SGER: Coping with Community-based Traumatic Events: The Columbine High School Shootings and the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

A large amount of past research has examined how people respond to traumatic life experiences. However, little is known about how cognitive, social, and emotional responses to trauma interact and develop over time. In addition, very few studies have looked at how adolescents cope with traumatic events, and almost no research has investigated the similarities and differences among family members who are experiencing the same traumatic event. The recent Littleton, Colorado school shooting offers a compelling and important context in which to study these issues. The goal of this small grant for exploratory research is to document the variability in acute responses to a community trauma among both adolescents and adults, in an effort to identify early predictors of long-term adjustment to trauma. Residents of the Littleton community will be interviewed immediately, with follow-up assessments to occur 6 months and 18 months later. Results from this study will have both theoretical and practical utility in understanding the psychological aftermath of human-made as well as natural disasters.