SGER: Coping with Community-based Traumatic Events: National Response to September 11, 2001

University Of California-Irvine, Irvine CA

Investigators

Abstract

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 were unprecedented in their scope and traumatic impact. For this reason, little is known about the variety of responses that can be expected among residents of the United States. As the effects of the trauma spread through the country, scientists and mental health professionals have little information to use in predicting adjustment over time. This project will provide such data. The research examines some of the psychological consequences of the terrorist attacks by continuing to follow and interview a sample of respondents who were initially questioned soon after September 11 and again in November, 2001. It is expected that information collected in this effort will illuminate coping processes so that future intervention efforts can be better informed, more cost-effective and more sensitive to the needs of the United States populace.