Community-Based Interventions in New York City After 9/11

Abstract

The horrors of 9/11 have created tremendous psychosocial needs in the population of New York. For all major providers in this field, this has meant taking up the challenge of learning within the new situation, creating new frameworks for intervention, and implementing programs that previously had not been a part of the traditional social services environment. In this article, we will describe the process of transforming this challenge into an opportunity for organizational, professional and conceptual growth.     

Flashbulb memories for expected events: a test of the emotional‐integrative model

Flashbulb memories (FBMs) are vivid, long‐lasting and consistent recollections for the reception context of shocking and unexpected public news. Only a few studies have assessed FBMs for predictable events. In the present study the emotional‐integrative model is considered to account for FBMs for an expected event, that is, the death of President Mitterrand, across two national groups, that are, French and Belgian citizens. Results showed that FBMs can develop for an expected event; they are affected by its emotional impact and subsequent rehearsal, while surprise did not play a role in their formation. The emotional‐integrative model was confirmed as a promising tool to model datasets on FBMs. It holds for both subsamples, with a better parsimony for Belgian respondents' data. Implications for the debate about the nature of FBMs are discussed. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Social integration buffers stress in New York police after the 9/11 terrorist attack

Being socially integrated is regarded as a protective factor enabling people to cope with adversity. The stress-buffering effect reflects an interaction between stress and a social coping resource factor on subsequent outcomes. This study, based on 2943 police officers, examines mental health outcomes among officers who responded to the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. The Wave 1 data collection took place between September 2003 and November 2004 with a follow-up study (Wave 2) conducted from November 2006 through December 2007. A moderated mediation model was specified that uses event exposure as a distal predictor, earlier stress response as a mediator, and later stress response as an outcome, and social integration as a moderator of this relationship. The mediation hypothesis was confirmed, and moderation occurred at two stages. First, there was a multiplicative relationship between exposure levels and social integration: The higher the exposure level, the more stress responses occur, but this effect was buffered by a high level of social integration. Second, Wave 1 stress interacted with social integration on Wave 2 stress: The more the police officers were socially integrated, the lower the Wave 2 stress, which happened in a synergistic manner. The findings contribute to the understanding of mediating and moderating mechanisms that result in health outcomes such as posttraumatic stress disorder or resilience.     

Flashbulb and factual memories: the case of Rabin's assassination

Similarities and differences between factual memories (FTM) and flashbulb memories (FBM) of the assassination of Israel's Prime Minister, Itzhak Rabin, were explored. About two weeks after the assassination 61 Israeli students filled out a questionnaire which focused on the event and the circumstances in which they had first learned about it. About 11 months later they filled out again the same questionnaire, and self‐assessed their emotional and cognitive reactions to the assassination, as well as specific properties of their memory; such as confidence in its accuracy, and the amounts of rehearsals and visual representations. Comparative analysis of the participants' responses on the two questionnaires uncovered decrements of about 25% in FTM accuracy, and about 36% in FBM consistency. Rehearsals and visual representations were more common in FTM than in FBM, but the levels of confidence in memory accuracy were similar for both. FTM which were presumably based on information provided by television broadcasts, appeared to have episodic properties. The data seem to support the hypothesis that FTM and FBM of traumatic public events are encoded together; perhaps by the same memory mechanism. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Field and observer viewpoint in remember-know memories of personal childhood events

This experiment examined the viewpoint and other phenomenal characteristics of childhood memories based on both personal recollections and self-knowledge. Participants were asked to provide examples of remember, know, and uncertain memories, and to rate each memory on a number of dimensions. Remembered events were generally viewed from a field perspective, while known-about events were generally viewed from an observer perspective. In line with earlier research, remembered events received the highest ratings for sensory and contextual detail, emotional content, and memory accuracy, while known-about events were given the lowest ratings. The results are discussed with reference to their possible implications for memory recovery or enhancement techniques that ask people to adopt a different viewpoint. Consideration is given as to whether a switch to a field perspective might encourage the acceptance of suggested details or events.     

Field and observer viewpoint in remember-know memories of personal childhood events

This experiment examined the viewpoint and other phenomenal characteristics of childhood memories based on both personal recollections and self-knowledge. Participants were asked to provide examples of remember, know, and uncertain memories, and to rate each memory on a number of dimensions. Remembered events were generally viewed from a field perspective, while known-about events were generally viewed from an observer perspective. In line with earlier research, remembered events received the highest ratings for sensory and contextual detail, emotional content, and memory accuracy, while known-about events were given the lowest ratings. The results are discussed with reference to their possible implications for memory recovery or enhancement techniques that ask people to adopt a different viewpoint. Consideration is given as to whether a switch to a field perspective might encourage the acceptance of suggested details or events.     

Flashbulb memories for a negative and a positive event: news of Desert Storm and acceptance to college

37 college students answered questions regarding the circumstances in which they first heard about two events that took place approximately two years prior: the beginning of Operation Desert Storm and the news of their acceptance to college. The number of details recalled about their own circumstances for both events was very high and not different for the two events. However, they reported having stronger emotional reactions (as measured by a 5-point rating scale) for the news of acceptance to college. Only for the news of Desert Storm was rated intensity of emotional reaction related to the number of details recalled. Sex differences were found in the intensity of emotional reactions and frequency of rehearsal but not in recall.     

Coping responses of Asian, Black, and Latino/Latina New York City residents following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks against the United States

This study examined mechanisms for coping with adversity in a sample of 24 Asian, Black, and Latino/Latina residents of New York City following the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center (WTC) terrorist attacks. Using consensual qualitative research methodology (C. E. Hill, B. J. Thompson, & E. N. Williams, 1997), the authors identified 7 broad coping domains used by the participants: (a) sought additional information about the WTC tragedy, (b) expressed a range of emotions, (c) sought or gave support, (d) engaged in religious or spiritual activities, (e) avoidance, (f) forbearance, and (g) used indigenous healing techniques. Although there were similarities across racial or cultural groups and genders with regard to the coping responses used, there also were unique coping strategies by racial or cultural background and gender.     

Psychological resilience after disaster: New York City in the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attack

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.     

Flashbulb memories and the underlying mechanisms of their formation: Toward an emotional-integrative model

Flashbulb memories (FBMs) are detailed recollections of the context in which people first heard about important events. The present study investigates three models of the formation and maintenance of FBM. Two models have previously been proposed in the literature (Brown & Kulik, 1977; Conway et al., 1994). A third model of FBM that integrates theories of FBM and recent developments in the field of emotions is proposed. The present study compares these three competing models by investigating the FBMs that Belgian citizens developed upon learning of the unexpected death of their king Baudouin. Structural equation modeling revealed that, as compared to the two previously proposed models, the third model, which takes into account emotional processes, better explains FBM.     

Flashbulb memories of the Pope's resignation: Explicit and implicit measures across differing religious groups

In the present paper, we aimed to provide evidence in support of the idea tested in a recent study by Lanciano and colleagues that flashbulb memories (FBMs) are a special class of autobiographical memories that can be assessed through the autobiographical implicit association test (aIAT). FBMs and event memories (EMs) for the news of the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI were evaluated in three samples of churchgoer Catholic, non-churchgoer Catholic and Evangelical Italian participants through the traditional self-report measures (specificity/accuracy, confidence, consistency) and aIAT indices. Results confirmed the strength of the association between FBM and true information. The aIAT effect was stronger for FBMs than for EM details, and for Catholic respondents who were the group most concerned by the original event. Furthermore, the use of implicit measures for memory assessment concurs with the traditional self-report indices of FBMs. The present evidence supports the idea that FBMs are special autobiographical memories which remain detailed, certain and consistent over time.     

Stress symptoms one year after 9/11/01: a follow-up

This study investigated whether stress symptoms related to attention deficit previously found for a sample (n= 149) of Chicago-area college students 1 to 5 weeks after the September 11th attacks were present in a comparable sample (n = 129) 12 to 14 months later. As hypothesized, the later participants had a significantly lower mean score on the scale, Attention Deficit of the Smith Stress Symptoms Inventory, than a different group of participants tested immediately after the attacks. Mean Attention Deficit scores for groups after one year and immediately before September 11th (n=320) did not differ statistically. Findings are consistent with the interpretation that elevations in scores on Attention Deficit immediately after September 11th were indeed associated with the catastrophic attacks and not artifacts of time of examination. Consistent with previous research with this inventory, disaster-related traumatic stress scores are lower over time, although here no control group was included.     

Creating false memories for events that occurred before versus after the offset of childhood amnesia

We examined whether false images and memories for childhood events are more likely when the event supposedly took place during the period of childhood amnesia. Over three interviews, participants recalled six events: five true and one false. Some participants were told that the false event happened when they were 2 years old (Age 2 group), while others were told that it happened when they were 10 years old (Age 10 group). We compared participants' reports of the false event to their reports of a true event from the same age. Consistent with prior research on childhood amnesia, participants in the Age 10 group were more likely than participants in the Age 2 group to remember their true event and they reported more information about it. Participants in the Age 2 group, on the other hand, were more likely to develop false images and memories than participants in the Age 10 group. Furthermore, once a false image or memory developed, there were no age-related differences in the amount of information participants reported about the false event. We conclude that childhood amnesia increases our susceptibility to false suggestion, thus our results have implications for court cases where early memories are at issue.     

Creating false memories for events that occurred before versus after the offset of childhood amnesia

We examined whether false images and memories for childhood events are more likely when the event supposedly took place during the period of childhood amnesia. Over three interviews, participants recalled six events: five true and one false. Some participants were told that the false event happened when they were 2 years old (Age 2 group), while others were told that it happened when they were 10 years old (Age 10 group). We compared participants’ reports of the false event to their reports of a true event from the same age. Consistent with prior research on childhood amnesia, participants in the Age 10 group were more likely than participants in the Age 2 group to remember their true event and they reported more information about it. Participants in the Age 2 group, on the other hand, were more likely to develop false images and memories than participants in the Age 10 group. Furthermore, once a false image or memory developed, there were no age-related differences in the amount of information participants reported about the false event. We conclude that childhood amnesia increases our susceptibility to false suggestion, thus our results have implications for court cases where early memories are at issue.     

9/11 as a new temporal phase for Islam

Since the bombing of the twin towers, ‘Islam’ as a cultural narrative has entered a new temporal phase which in many ways signifies the re-imagining of a religion through the visual imagery of 9/11 and the global events which have unfolded since the apocalyptic images were first witnessed by the world. The distant proximity of 9/11 and the relocation of the perceived Islamic ‘resurgent atavism’ within the heartlands of power in Western soil constitute the formation of a new sociological imagination of Islam and 9/11 as a new liminal temporality. The association of the religion with a new category of risks in urban sites and the constant state of insecurity in seemingly secure spaces represents a new narrative phase of geo-politics in which the locus of this re-imagining mediated through ICTs, is one that happens not just in faraway places but within the ‘ontological securities’ of Western modernity, posing a liquid threat which is impervious to territorially bounded spheres.     

Flashbulb memories in social groups: a comparative test-retest study of the memory of French President Mitterrand's death in a French and a Belgian group

Flashbulb memories are vivid and long-lasting memories for the reception context of an important public event (Brown & Kulik, 1977). They are assumed to be triggered by emotional factors (i.e., intensity of emotional feeling, appraisal of the original event) and by social factors (i.e., social sharing of the news, following media debate about the event). The present study investigated the memory for the death of the former President of France F. Mitterrand in two social groups, i.e., French and Belgian people. This study tests whether the flashbulb memory attributes, the memory for the original event, and the impact of the emotional and social determinants of flashbulb memory differed across groups. The results indicated that the flashbulb memory for Mitterrand's death is affected by group provenance, as French people showed higher levels of recall for the flashbulb memory attributes and their determinants than Belgian people. Time impaired recollections in both groups, so that flashbulb memories appear prone to decay and share the same destiny as ordinary memories. The theoretical construct of concern--as the most basic antecedent of emotional experiences and its related appraisal (Frijda, 1994)--is discussed in order to explain the differences in memory of the two social groups.     

A comparison of Chinese and American memories for public events

Memory for public events was compared across Chinese and U.S. participants to explore competing explanations for cultural differences in flashbulb memories. Participant recall of the canonical features of events was more detailed and more likely to include a specific time in the United States than in the Chinese reports. Vividness was positively correlated with the flashbulb memory scores only in the U.S. sample. In both cultures, emotion, national importance, and thinking about the event predicted vividness and recall of memory details. Chinese participants reported primarily disasters and social events, and their memories were more likely to include international events than U.S. participants. The U.S. participants recalled primarily political events and terrorism. These results suggest that culture has important influences on the quantity, level of detail, completeness, and vividness of autobiographical memories as well as on the types of events triggering flashbulb memories.