SGER: The Costs and Benefits of Self-Enhancement: Coping with the Terrorist Attack on the World Trade Center

SGER：自我增强的成本和收益：应对世贸中心恐怖袭击

• 批准号: 0202772
• 负责人: George Bonanno
• 金额: $ 4.53万
• 依托单位: Teachers College, Columbia University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2001
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2001-12-15 至 2002-11-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0202772&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SGER; Costs; Benefits; Self; Enhancement

The September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York City was a traumatic event of unparalleled magnitude. In addition to the thousands who perished in the attack, literally tens of thousands of others were directly and without warning exposed to grave danger as they fled the buildings. Still others not in immediate physical danger nonetheless were forced to watch in horror as people jumped from the towers, or were engulfed by debris. Such images and experiences will undoubtedly leave thousands vulnerable for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Yet, based on past research, it can be anticipated that many of the individuals directly exposed to the WTC attack will recover their equilibrium and return to normal functioning within a month or two after the event. The goal of this small grant for exploratory research is to understand this remarkable resilience. In two previous studies, the principal investigator and his colleagues found that individuals disposed toward self-enhancement were better able to cope with extremely adverse conditions. The current study is designed to explore whether self-enhancing individuals who were directly exposed to the WTC attack (i.e., in or near the WTC and either in immediate danger or witnessed horrific sights) might cope better than other individuals. The relationship between self-enhancement and long-term adjustment will be examined using multiple measures, including a biological marker of stress reactions and ratings of participant's adjustment provided by close friends and family members. In addition, this study will further explore the social cost of self-enhancement and how it relates to overall adjustment and well being by including a wider range of measures of social relations than had been used in previous research. Finally, the study will examine how survivors of the WTC attack experience express emotions when they talk about their experiences on September 11. These data will help determine whether self-enhancers process emotions differently than other individuals and, if so, whether these differences hold the key to their unusual ability to cope with extreme adversity.

2001年9月11日发生在纽约市的世界贸易中心（WTC）的恐怖袭击是一个空前严重的创伤事件。除了数千人在袭击中丧生外，还有成千上万的人在逃离建筑物时，在没有任何警告的情况下直接面临严重危险。还有一些人没有直接的人身危险，但被迫惊恐地看着人们从塔楼上跳下，或被碎片吞没。这样的形象和经历无疑会使成千上万的人容易患上创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）。然而，根据过去的研究，可以预期，许多直接暴露在世贸中心袭击中的人将在事件发生后一两个月内恢复平衡并恢复正常功能。这项探索性研究的目的是了解这种非凡的弹性。在之前的两项研究中，首席研究员和他的同事发现，倾向于自我提升的人能够更好地科普极端不利的条件。目前的研究旨在探讨是否自我增强的个人谁是直接暴露于世贸中心的攻击（即，在世贸中心内或附近，或者处于直接危险之中，或者目睹了可怕的景象）可能比其他人更好地科普。自我提升和长期适应之间的关系将使用多种测量方法进行研究，包括压力反应的生物标志物和亲密朋友和家人对参与者适应的评级。此外，本研究将进一步探讨自我提升的社会成本，以及它如何与整体调整和福祉，包括更广泛的社会关系的措施比以前的研究中使用的。最后，该研究将研究世贸中心袭击经历的幸存者在谈论他们在9月11日的经历时如何表达情绪。这些数据将有助于确定自我增强者处理情绪的方式是否与其他人不同，如果是这样，这些差异是否是他们科普极端逆境的非凡能力的关键。