Reviews the book, Terrorism, Trauma and Psychology: A Multilevel Victim Perspective of the Bali Bombings by Gwen Brookes, Julie Ann Pooley, and Jaya Earnest (see record 2015-03263-000). Proximity to trauma leaves no one untouched. Brookes' experiences of the Bali terrorist attacks in 2002 led to research that became her PhD thesis and, subsequently, this book coauthored with Pooley and Earnest. This book is a well-written thesis that academics will best appreciate, but it will leave nonacademics and those not in the field of healthcare somewhat disappointed. This is predominately because the insistence on demonstrating the research's methodological rigor take from the flow of an account that is otherwise rich in empathy and in gripping detail. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

BACKGROUND: Studies of survivors of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City suggest that postdisaster depressive disorders may be at least as prevalent, or even more prevalent, than posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), unlike findings from most other disaster studies. The relative prevalence and incidence of major depressive disorder (MDD) and PTSD were examined after the 9/11 attacks relative to trauma exposures. METHODS: This study used full diagnostic assessment methods and careful categorization of exposure groups based on DSM-IV-TR criteria for PTSD to examine 373 employees of 9/11-affected New York City workplaces. RESULTS: Postdisaster new MDD episode (26%) in the entire sample was significantly more prevalent (p<.001) than 9/11-related PTSD (14%). Limiting the comparison to participants with 9/11 trauma exposures, the prevalence of postdisaster new MDD episode and 9/11-related PTSD did not differ (p=.446). The only 9/11 trauma exposure group with a significant difference in relative prevalence of MDD and PTSD were those with a 9/11 trauma-exposed close associate, for whom postdisaster new MDD episode (45%) was more prevalent (p=.046) than 9/11-related PTSD (31%). CONCLUSIONS: Because of the conditional definition of PTSD requiring trauma exposure that is not part of MDD criteria, prevalence comparisons of these two disorders must be limited to groups with qualifying trauma exposures to be meaningful. Findings from this study suggest distinct mechanisms underlying these two disorders that differentially relate to direct exposure to trauma vs. the magnitude of the disaster and personal connectedness to disaster and community-wide effects. [Author Abstract]

Whilst terrorism is not a new global phenomenon, the fallout from the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US remain extensive and far reaching, including the sanctioning of harsher security measures and the denigration of human rights and civil liberties. Of particular concern is the move towards torture being an accepted practice for those deemed 'terror suspects' or captured 'enemy' combatants in countries where the so called 'war on terror' is still being played out. This article argues that the social work response, particularly in relation to challenging pro-torture rhetoric, has been limited at best, and to effectively address the problem there must be an international response if social work is to adhere to its obligations under the IFSW Code of Ethics, and fulfil its role as a human rights profession. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

This paper is the first attempt to investigate the causal relationship between military spending, terrorist attacks and intensity of terrorism in case of Pakistan, by applying the ARDL approach to cointegration and innovation accounting approach for causality analysis. The results indicate that war on terror is the major determinant of military spending followed by terrorism intensity and the number of terrorist attacks respectively. The study further finds that terrorism intensity and terrorist attacks Granger-cause military spending but the reverse is not present. The failure of military measures to curtail terrorism and its intensity induces one to suggest greater involvement of civil intelligence agencies by raising their budgets instead of pure military budget. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Witnessing is never merely watching or seeing. Witnessing is never a passive practice. Witnessing is active, a performance, an embodied experience. Given the hypermediated nature of the contemporary social world witnessing is particularly common when practised large distances from events. Contemporary terrorists, and their counterparts waging the so-called global 'war on terror', depend on near and distant witnesses to spread their violent messages and influence target audiences. Witnessing, however, shows itself to be contradictory and unreliable just like the people who do it, all of whom endure disowned desires and fears. Drawing on the Smithsonian, the September 11 Digital Archive and the story of lower Manhattan graphic novelist Art Spiegelman, I argue that witnessing is what is most at stake in any attempt to understand the meanings and consequences of contemporary terrorism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

OBJECTIVE: Individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) exhibit heightened amygdala reactivity and atypical activation patterns in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in response to negative emotional information. It is unknown whether these aspects of neural function are risk factors for PTSD or consequences of either trauma exposure or onset of the disorder. We had a unique opportunity to investigate this issue following the terrorist attacks at the 2013 Boston Marathon and the ensuing manhunt and shelter in place order. We examined associations of neural function measured prior to the attack with PTSD symptom onset related to these events. METHODS: A sample of 15 adolescents (mean age = 16.5 years) who previously participated in a neuroimaging study completed a survey assessing posttraumatic symptoms related to the terrorist attack. We examined blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) response to viewing and actively down-regulating emotional responses to negative stimuli in regions previously associated with PTSD, including the amygdala, hippocampus, and mPFC, as prospective predictors of posttraumatic symptom onset. RESULTS: Increased BOLD signal to negative emotional stimuli in the left amygdala was strongly associated with posttraumatic symptoms following the attack. Reduced bilateral hippocampal activation during effortful attempts to down-regulate emotional responses to negative stimuli was also associated with greater posttraumatic symptoms. Associations of amygdala reactivity with posttraumatic symptoms were robust to controls for pre-existing depression, anxiety, and PTSD symptoms and prior exposure to violence. CONCLUSIONS: Amygdala reactivity to negative emotional information might represent a neurobiological marker of vulnerability to traumatic stress and, potentially, a risk factor for PTSD. [Author Abstract] KEY WORDS: amygdala; hippocampus; trauma; terrorism; PTSD; stress

Previous research has shown that self-blame predicts increased risk of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in youth exposed to terrorism, but little is known about the factors mediating such relationship. This study aimed to explore whether school connectedness (SC) mediates the effect of self-blame on PTSD in 60 adolescents (aged 14'“18 years) who survived the 2004 terrorist attack against school no. 1 in Beslan, Russia. Participants completed measures of coping, SC, and PTSD three years after the traumatic event. Endorsement of self-blaming behaviors was found to be significantly positively related to the presence of PTSD; self-blame was negatively associated with SC, which in turn was negatively related to PTSD. The mediation hypothesis was supported, with SC partially mediating the link between self-blame and PTSD. Adolescents affected by terrorism may benefit from school-based interventions aimed at fostering students' sense of belonging and emotional bonding to teachers, peers, and the school environment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine psychiatric illness and physiological indicators in the children of Oklahoma City bombing survivors seven years after the event. METHODS: A study of 17 Oklahoma City bombing survivors and their 21 adolescent and young-adult children conducted seven years after the disaster used structured diagnostic interviews to examine psychiatric outcomes. Physiological measurements included heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and physiological reactivity measured in response to a semi-structured bombing-reminder interview. RESULTS: Results revealed a statistically significant positive association between survivors and their children with respect to both post-disaster and current posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Also, children whose parents met diagnostic criteria for either post-disaster or current major depression were more likely to meet criteria for a post-disaster behavior disorder and for any post-disaster psychiatric disorder than children whose parents did not meet criteria for post-disaster or current major depression. Survivors' children meeting criteria for any post-disaster psychiatric diagnosis had higher heart rates during the pre-test, test, and post-test periods than children who did not meet criteria for any disorder. Children whose survivor parents met criteria for bombing-related PTSD and for any post-disaster psychiatric disorder had greater heart rate reactivity than those whose parents did not. CONCLUSION: Findings of this study support previous literature on the relationships between children's psychiatric illness and physiological reactions and suggest interactions between disaster survivors' psychiatric illness and their children's psychiatric and physiological status. [Author Abstract]

This study examine whether the attacks had observable effects on Norwegians' attitudes toward immigrants. Using data gathered around the time of the 2011 terror attacks in Norway, we assess how attitudes toward immigrants were affected. Treating the attacks as a natural experiment, it was found that the attitudes toward immigrants became more positive after the attacks. The size of the effect is not large but it is three times as high as the gender gap in attitudes toward immigrants. As discussed, according to System Justification Theory, social threats, like terrorist attacks, should increase conservatism and increase scepticism toward immigrants. However, when the terrorism is conducted by an in-group member, in the present case an ethnic Norwegian, the Black Sheep Effect suggests that people from the in-group will react with hostility toward the perpetrator and try to dissociate themselves from the terrorist and his ideas. The findings are well in line with the latter mechanism. Future research should, when data availability permits, try to use similar research designs as we do to assess how important events may shape attitudes toward immigrants, but also attitudes more generally. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

This brief report presents some of the lessons learned from coordinating research in which people directly affected by terrorist attacks in Norway in 2011 are taking part. After the terrorist attacks, it was decided to establish a national coordinating function in order to protect those who were affected when they participate in research. By gathering key stakeholders, it is possible to avoid duplication of research through practical measures such as information sharing, facilitating cooperation, and working toward sharing of data. In addition, a coordinating function provides a platform for working to increase the impact of the research among practitioners and policy makers, and inform the general public. The conclusions are that coordination should be interdisciplinary, that it is important to plan for the sharing and reuse of data, and that both the research community and the research infrastructure should take steps to improve preparedness when disaster inevitably strikes again. [Author Abstract] KEY WORDS: disaster; research ethics; data sharing; terrorism; disaster research