Citation

Butler LD, Koopman C, Azarow J, Blasey CM, Magdalene JC, DiMiceli S, Seagraves DA, Hastings TA, Chen XH, Garlan RW, Kraemer HC, Spiegel D. J. Nerv. Ment. Dis. 2009; 197(4): 266-273.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA. ldbutler@buffalo.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1097/NMD.0b013e31819d9334

PMID

19363383

Abstract

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 inflicted distress beyond those directly exposed, thereby providing an opportunity to examine the contributions of a range of factors (cognitive, emotional, social support, coping) to psychological resilience for those indirectly exposed. In an Internet convenience sample of 1281, indices of resilience (higher well-being, lower distress) at baseline (2.5-12 weeks post-attack) were each associated with less emotional suppression, denial and self-blame, and fewer negative worldview changes. After controlling for initial outcomes, baseline negative worldview changes and aspects of social support and coping all remained significant predictors of 6-month outcomes, with worldview changes bearing the strongest relationship to each. These findings highlight the role of emotional, coping, social support, and particularly, cognitive variables in adjustment after terrorism.

Language: en