A growing body of evidence suggests that most adults exposed to potentially traumatic events are resilient. However, research on the factors that may promote or deter adult resilience has been limited. This study examined patterns of association between resilience and various sociocontextual factors. The authors used data from a random-digit-dial phone survey (N = 2,752) conducted in the New York City area after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack. Resilience was defined as having 1 or 0 posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and as being associated with low levels of depression and substance use. Multivariate analyses indicated that the prevalence of resilience was uniquely predicted by participant gender, age, race/ethnicity, education, level of trauma exposure, income change, social support, frequency of chronic disease, and recent and past life stressors. Implications for future research and intervention are discussed.

Research on adult reactions to potentially traumatic events has focused almost exclusively on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Although there has been relatively little research on the absence of trauma symptoms, the available evidence suggests that resilience following such events may be more prevalent than previously believed. This study examined the prevalence of resilience, defined as having either no PTSD symptoms or one symptom, among a large (n= 2,752) probability sample of New York area residents during the 6 months following the September 11th terrorist attack. Although many respondents met criteria for PTSD, particularly when exposure was high, resilience was observed in 65.1% of the sample. Resilience was less prevalent among more highly exposed individuals, but the frequency of resilience never fell below one third even among the exposure groups with the most dramatic elevations in PTSD.

Drug users frequently witness the nonfatal and fatal drug overdoses of their peers, but often fail to intervene effectively to reduce morbidity and mortality. We assessed the circumstances of witnessed heroin-related overdoses in New York City (NYC) among a predominantly minority population of drug users. Among 1184 heroin, crack, and cocaine users interviewed between November 2001 and February 2004, 672 (56.8%) had witnessed at least one nonfatal or fatal heroin-related overdose. Of those, 444 (67.7%) reported that they or someone else present called for medical help for the overdose victim at the last witnessed overdose. In multivariable models, the respondent never having had an overdose her/himself and the witnessed overdose occurring in a public place were associated with the likelihood of calling for medical help. Fear of police response was the most commonly cited reason for not calling or delaying before calling for help (52.2%). Attempts to revive the overdose victim through physical stimulation (e.g., applying ice, causing pain) were reported by 59.7% of respondents, while first aid measures were attempted in only 11.9% of events. Efforts to equip drug users to manage overdoses effectively, including training in first aid and the provision of naloxone, and the reduction of police involvement at overdose events may have a substantial impact on overdose-related morbidity and mortality.

Drug users who have previously experienced a nonfatal overdose are at very high risk of experiencing future overdoses. Further longitudinal studies are needed to identify robust predictors of overdose risk over time in habitual drug users, but these data suggest that drug users who have overdosed warrant aggressive prevention efforts such as agonist maintenance treatment or provision of take-home naloxone.

This research reassesses the role of policing and drugs in the sharp homicide decline in New York City in the 1990s. Drawing on theoretical arguments about “broken windows” policing and lethal violence associated with the diffusion of crack cocaine, we estimate the effects of measures of misdemeanor arrests and cocaine prevalence on homicide rates with pooled, cross‐sectional time‐series data for 74 New York City precincts over the 1990–1999 period. The results of mixed regression models reveal a significant negative effect of changes in misdemeanor arrests and a significant positive effect of changes in cocaine prevalence on changes in total homicide rates. Additional analyses of homicide disaggregated by weapon indicate that the effects of misdemeanor arrests and cocaine prevalence emerge for gun‐related but not for non‐gun‐related homicides. Overall, the research generally supports influential interpretations of the homicide decline in New York City but also raises questions about underlying mechanisms that warrant more inquiry in future research.