Self-Enhancement and Long-Term Adjustment Among Survivors of the Terrorist Attack on the World Trade Center

2001年9月11日，纽约市世贸中心(WTC)遭受恐怖袭击，这是一次规模空前的创伤性事件。除了在袭击中丧生的数千人外，实际上还有数万人在逃离大楼时直接在没有警告的情况下面临严重危险。然而，其他没有直接人身危险的人被迫惊恐地看着人们从塔楼上跳下来，或者被碎片吞没。这样的图像和经历无疑会让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，可以预计，许多直接受到WTC攻击的人将在事件发生后一两个月内恢复平衡，恢复正常功能。这项拟议的研究的目标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们发现，倾向于自我提升的人更有能力应对极端不利的条件。目前的研究旨在探索直接暴露于世贸中心袭击中的自强个人(即在世贸中心内或附近，处于直接危险中或目睹可怕场景)是否可能比其他人更好地应对。将使用多种衡量标准来研究自我提升和长期适应之间的关系，包括压力反应的生物标记物，以及由亲密的朋友和家人提供的参与者适应能力的评级。此外，这项研究还将进一步探讨自我提升的社会成本及其与整体适应和幸福感的关系，包括比以往研究更广泛的社会关系测量方法。最后，这项研究将调查世贸中心袭击事件的幸存者在谈论他们在9·11事件中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，如果是的话，这些差异是否是他们应对极端逆境的非凡能力的关键。

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 the proposed 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.