Predicting Children's Reactions to Terrorist Attacks: The Importance of Self-Reports and Preexisting Characteristics.

Abstract

Forty-eight mothers and their 11-year-old children, who were participants in a longitudinal study, were interviewed in their home after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Children's verbatim statements were analyzed for fear, separation anxiety, denial, rationalization, anger, and empathy. In the final model, preexisting child anxiety and maternal worry significantly explained 33% of the variance in children's self-reported fearful feelings.

Children’s Cognitive Functioning in Disasters and Terrorism

“…For example, children exposed to Hurricane Katrina had lower levels of concentration and less resistance to distraction than those in an unexposed control group 10 months post-event [21]. Even indirect exposure may result in attention problems in children far from the disaster as seen in Midwestern children after September 11 [15] and in youth living in communities outside the impact area of the 2004 Tsunami [16]. Scrimin and colleagues [18,19] found difficulties in attention, memory, and visualspatial performance in children directly and indirectly exposed to the Beslan school hostage crisis.…”

“…Impaired attention and concentration may underlie negative disaster reactions and can extend long after the event. A number of studies have explored attention and concentration as outcomes of disaster exposure [15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. For example, children exposed to Hurricane Katrina had lower levels of concentration and less resistance to distraction than those in an unexposed control group 10 months post-event [21].…”

Correlates of hazards education for youth: a replication study

“…Specific variables that have been found to be related to the development of an adverse reaction include: proximity to the disaster area, perceived life threat, injury (Pynoos et al 1993;Vernberg et al 1996), female gender (Lonigan et al 1994;Garrison et al 1995;LaGreca et al 1996;Weems et al 2007), younger age (Lonigan et al 1994); ethnicity (African-American; LaGreca et al 1998;Lonigan et al 1994), pre-existing anxiety and depressive symptoms (Garrison et al 1995;Hock et al 2004;LaGreca et al 1998;Lonigan et al 1994;Nolen-Hoeksema and Morrow 1991;Weems et al 2007), access to social support, the use of maladaptive coping styles (LaGreca et al 1996), reduced coping ability (Huzziff and Ronan 1999), and parental functioning (Huzziff and Ronan 1999;LaGreca et al 1998LaGreca et al , 1999. With a focus on non-static risk factors, preventive efforts with these children would be thought to enhance their ability to cope more effectively should a hazard occur.…”

“…The majority of research related to hazards and children's functioning has focused on children's reactions following a disaster (Hock et al 2004;LaGreca et al 1996;Ronan 1997a;Vernberg et al 1996;Weems et al 2007). This line of research includes studies that have evaluated the effectiveness of programs aimed at reducing children's adverse reactions to hazards (Chemtob et al 2002a, b;Giannopoulou et al 2006;Goenjian et al 1997;Ronan and Johnston 1999;Shooshtary et al 2008).…”

Mental Health Consequences of September 11: A Five-Year Review of the Behavioral Sciences Literature

“…In the aftermath of September 11, 48 mothers and their 11-year-old children were interviewed in a study (Hock et al 2004) conducted in Ohio to assess children's reactions to the events of September 11. Sixty-seven percent of children reported fear and anxiety, and were able to articulate their emotions very clearly.…”