SGER: Restoring Assumptions of Safety and Control Following the 2001 Terrorist Attacks

2001年9月的恐怖主义袭击不仅是对美国有形基础设施的袭击，也是对数百万美国人安全感的打击。这些袭击对所有美国人来说都是个人显著的，因为媒体的广泛报道，美国人作为目标的选择，以及进一步袭击的可能性。因此，大多数不是受害者的美国人似乎受到了袭击的严重影响，包括焦虑和个人控制力下降，对他们生活意义感的挑战，以及对航空乘客旅行，供水和炭疽的脆弱感。尽管随着大多数人找到了恢复控制、无敌和意义等适应性假设的方法，其中一些影响已经减弱，但似乎许多人仍然处于高度焦虑状态，没有找到有用的方法来重新获得安全感和意义。对于那些仍然焦虑的人来说，长期的后果是生活质量降低，包括压力增加和生活方式的限制。这项探索性研究的目的是探索大多数公众如何在恐怖袭击后恢复对控制，抗毁性和意义的适应性假设。通过开放式访谈和问卷调查，将确定在攻击后恢复控制的认知和行为策略。根据“假设世界理论”，预测使用策略来恢复控制感将与更高的适应性假设和更低的焦虑水平相关。此外，预计成功地恢复假设将与事先解决的受害，一般感知的控制感，并在危机时期使用的社会支持。至关重要的是，公共决策者和美国人自己要了解在全国性灾难发生后恢复适应性假设的过程。这项研究将帮助个人了解他们对事件的反应，并确定减少焦虑和破坏日常生活的适应性反应。将通过大众媒体向公众传播关于对袭击的共同反应和适应性反应的实用信息，并通过专业文献向公共卫生官员提供这些信息。与此同时，本研究将个人创伤性生活事件的理论扩展到那些不是受害者本身，而是目标群体的成员，并可以建立假设世界理论的效用，以了解这些对国家灾难的广泛反应。

The terrorist attacks of September 2001 were not just an assault on the physical infrastructure of the U.S. -- they also represented a blow to the sense of safety and security of millions of Americans. The attacks were personally salient to all Americans because of the extensive media coverage, the choice of Americans as targets, and the likelihood of further attacks. Thus it seems likely that the majority of Americans who were not victims themselves suffered significant effects from the attacks including anxiety and reduced personal control, a challenge to their sense of meaningfulness in life, and a sense of vulnerability regarding airline passenger travel, the water supply, and anthrax. Although some of these effects have abated as most individuals found ways to restore their adaptive assumptions of control, invulnerability, and meaning, it seems likely that many individuals remain in a heightened state of anxiety and have not found useful ways to regain a sense of security and meaning. The long-term consequences for those who remain anxious are a lowered quality of life, including increased stress and restrictions in lifestyle. The goal of this small grant for exploratory research is to explore how most people in the general public have restored adaptive assumptions of control, invulnerability, and meaning following the terrorist attacks. Through open-ended interviews and questionnaires, the cognitive and behavioral strategies to restore control following the attacks will be identified. Based on "Assumptive Worlds Theory," it is predicted that the use of strategies to restore a sense of control will be associated with higher current levels of adaptive assumptions and lower anxiety. Furthermore, it is expected that success in restoring assumptions will be associated with prior resolution of a victimization, a sense of general perceived control, and the use of social support in times of crisis. It is critically important that public decision makers and Americans themselves understand the process of restoring adaptive assumptions following a nationwide disaster. This research will help individuals understand their reactions to the events and will identify adaptive responses that reduce anxiety and disruption to everyday life. This practical information about common responses and adaptive reactions to the attacks will be disseminated to the public through the popular media and made available to public health officials through the professional literature. At the same time, this study extends theories about personal traumatic life events to individuals who are not victims themselves, but fellow members of a targeted group, and can establish the utility of Assumptive Worlds Theory for understanding these widespread reactions to a national disaster.