In recent years, a growing body of research has set out to examine the role that emotions play in shaping political attitudes and behaviors regarding terrorism. However, one major issue that is generally overlooked is whether the thematic relevance of emotive triggers leads to differential effects on people's reactions to international terrorism. Specifically, does anger'”regardless of its source'”tend to drive people towards supporting an aggressive foreign policy option to counter terrorism, or do the thematic underpinnings of anger (i.e., the specific contents that trigger this particular emotion, such as watching a news story about a recent terrorist attack) matter vis-á-vis the policy choice? To address this gap, this study experimentally examines the impact of anger'”induced by thematically relevant versus irrelevant emotive triggers'”on people's cognitive processing and foreign policy preferences regarding international terrorism. Overall, we find that the induction of anger via thematically relevant emotive triggers leads to a higher tendency for selecting a military option, a lower amount of information acquisition, and a shorter processing time in response to terror-related incidents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate the 9/11-related experiences, observations, and perceptions of airline flight staff highly connected to the terrorist attacks and the effects of the attacks on their work. A focus group of 7 flight staff was conducted in January 2004. Spoken passages (N = 115) were categorized into themes, with excellent interrater reliability. Item count frequencies were tabulated for each theme. Five themes emerged: disaster experience, emotional response, perceived danger, interpersonal response, and workplace response. The flight staff characterized their daily work as front-line duty fraught with danger, uncertainty, and vivid reminders. [Author Abstract] KEY WORDS: disaster; focus groups; psychosocial, qualitative analysis; terrorism

It has long been recognized that human beings exposed to severe stress may develop psychological symptoms. With recent terrorist acts around the world including the New York City World Trade Center September 11, 2001 atrocity, there has been a growing interest in the specific impact of terrorist acts on the victims and witnesses. One area that has received less study is the specific impact on children. This paper reviews some of the general effects of traumatic stress on children and the history of the research in this area including a specific discussion of post-traumatic stress disorder in children. This is followed by a review of how children might react to the trauma of a terrorist attack differentiating between three different subgroups of children (preschool age children, school-age children, and adolescents). Then there is a review of what a comprehensive evaluation of childhood victims of terrorism should entail. Finally, treatment modalities that have been shown to be effective are reviewed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

There is a need to assess the psychiatric morbidity that appears as a consequence of terrorist attacks. The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) has been used to this end, but its psychometric properties have never been evaluated in a population affected by terrorism. A sample of 891 participants included 162 direct victims of terrorist attacks and 729 relatives of the victims. All participants were evaluated using the 28-item version of the GHQ (GHQ-28). We examined the reliability and external validity of scores on the scale using Cronbach's alpha and Pearson correlation with the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), respectively. The factor structure of the scale was analyzed with varimax rotation. Samejima's (1969) graded response model was used to explore the item properties. The GHQ-28 scores showed good reliability and item-scale correlations. The factor analysis identified 3 factors: anxious-somatic symptoms, social dysfunction, and depression symptoms. All factors showed good correlation with the STAI. Before rotation, the first, second, and third factor explained 44.0%, 6.4%, and 5.0% of the variance, respectively. Varimax rotation redistributed the percentages of variance accounted for to 28.4%, 13.8%, and 13.2%, respectively. Items with the highest loadings in the first factor measured anxiety symptoms, whereas items with the highest loadings in the third factor measured suicide ideation. Samejima's model found that high scores in suicide-related items were associated with severe depression. The factor structure of the GHQ-28 found in this study underscores the preeminence of anxiety symptoms among victims of terrorism and their relatives. Item response analysis identified the most difficult and significant items for each factor. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Unlike other forms of disaster, terrorism is not confined to a particular place or time, and recent evidence indicates that the 9/11 terrorist attack was a significant macrolevel stressor affecting the health and mental health of United States citizens. No studies, however, have reported symptoms in toddlers and their mothers both before and after the attacks. To address this gap, we examined the effects of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on mothers and their 33-month-old toddlers. The attacks occurred during data collection at 33 months of a longitudinal study. Thirty-three-month-old toddlers and mothers who were assessed after the attacks were compared with those assessed before the attacks. When changes were examined from a previous wave of data collected at 15 months, those in the after-attack group showed poorer health, lower child acceptance, and marginally more anxiety, and their toddlers cried more and slept less, whereas the before-attack group showed no changes. Our findings contribute to research documenting widespread effects of the 9/11 terrorist attack on stress-related symptoms and suggest that greater attention must be placed on the needs of our youngest citizens and their caregivers. © 2013 American Orthopsychiatric Association.

Terrorist acts have an enormous potential to produce trauma, especially in vulnerable groups such as children and adolescents. However, few studies have analysed the potentially adverse effects of terrorism on child victims. The present article systematically reviews the literature on the psychological consequences which exposure to acts of terrorism can have for children. A total of 54 publications were reviewed, the majority originating from the USA (72.22%) and linked to the 9/11 attacks in New York (50%). Most of the studies analysed post-traumatic symptoms (64.81%) in children who were indirect victims through exposure to media reports about the attack (33.33%). There is a need for trained professionals to work with child victims of terrorism; they must be able to recognize the symptoms associated with these experiences, as well as the damaging effects they may have on children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Purpose: While disasters are common in Africa, disaster studies in Africa are underrepresented in the published literature. This study prospectively examined the longitudinal course of psychopathology, coping, and functioning among 128 directly exposed Kenyan civilian survivors of the 1998 US Embassy bombing in Nairobi. Methods: The Diagnostic Interview Schedule/Disaster Supplement assessed predisaster and postdisaster psychiatric disorders and variables related to coping, functioning, safety, and religion near the end of the first and third postdisaster years. Results: Total postdisaster prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at the 3-year follow-up was 49; 28 % of the sample still had active PTSD. Delayed-onset PTSD was not observed. Posttraumatic symptoms decayed more slowly in individuals with than those without PTSD. PTSD was more prevalent and chronic than major depression. Those with current PTSD or major depression reported more functioning problems than those without. The length of hospitalization for injuries after the bombing predicted major depression remission, but no predictors of PTSD remission were found. Conclusions: Despite differences in coping and social variables, longitudinal psychopathology in the Nairobi terrorism survivors appeared broadly similar to results in Western disaster populations. These findings contribute to the understanding of disaster mental health in Africa and may have implications for generalizability of psychiatric effects of terrorist attacks around the globe. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

An applied linguistic study of talk in 12 focus groups (N = 96)'”six in London, where bombs exploded in July 2005, and six in Leeds, home to three of the bombers'”investigates the effects of terrorism on people's personal and social landscapes. Emotional responses of fear, of both violence and retaliation, and suspicion contribute to multiple disruptions in the construction of Self and Other. Muslim participants, who before lived with a multiplicity of voices and positions, feel reduced by non-Muslims to more simplistic categorizations through the discourse pattern of 'lumping,' which positions all Muslims as potential terrorists and sometimes as part of a wider group of 'nondesirable aliens.' Terrorist claims of Muslim identity bring tensions to religious positioning and interpersonal relationships, often resolved through 'moral splitting' that separates 'good/normal' from 'bad/brainwashed' Muslims. Less Muslim in-group bias and more non-Muslim empathy to Muslims is found than predicted. Personal connections are tested and disrupted by terrorism and some prove more resilient than others. Implications are suggested for social moral responsibility and leadership, and for discourse interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

The authors evaluated 2 cohorts of individuals from different Israeli communities (Sderot and Otef Aza) that are repeatedly subjected to potentially lethal missile attacks. Although both communities border the Gaza Strip and face similar levels of threat, the authors hypothesized that the Sderot cohort would endorse higher rates of stress-related symptoms because it has fewer mitigating economic and psychosocial resources. The authors further hypothesized that there would be a significant relationship between exposure to terror and psychopathology regardless of community context. To test these predictions, the authors compared the levels of exposure to terror, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and depression in representative samples of adults from the 2 communities (n = 298 and n = 152, respectively). Residents of Sderot had a much higher rate of probable PTSD (35.2% vs. 6.6%), and community context was the most important predictor of PTSD and depression. The study also revealed a significant relationship between exposure and psychopathology, but for Sderot residents only. The conclusion is that researchers, mental health workers, and policy makers should pay attention to the influence of community characteristics, such as the availability of resources, the general sense of support, and the level of solidarity, on the mental health response to exposure to terror. © 2013 American Orthopsychiatric Association.

As it should, the field of disaster research has always been responsive to real-world events. Each disaster raises new questions, calls attention to shortcomings in the existing knowledge base, and prompts new researchers to enter the field. Thus, historically, progress in understanding disaster effects leaps forward after particularly catastrophic or newsworthy events. The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks (9/11) triggered literally dozens of studies that crossed the range of affected populations. Most studies were conducted in New York City, of course, but several studies also examined the broad impact of 9/11 across the country. In September 2011, the 10th anniversary of 9/11 prompted five relevant journals to publish major special issues or sections on the attacks and their aftermath. In this newsletter, we aim to provide our readers with a guide to these important retrospectives. We read and considered for inclusion in our bibliography all articles published in special commemorative issues of The Lancet 378(9794), American Psychologist 66(6), Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness 5(S2), Journal of Traumatic Stress 24(5), and Traumatology 17(3). We highlight the most important contributions for understanding postdisaster mental health, especially PTSD. In general, the 9/11 anniversary articles can be grouped into four categories: Reviews, Original Research, Experiential Writings, and Commentary. [Text, p. 1]