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

2001年9月11日，恐怖分子对纽约世界贸易中心（WTC）的袭击是一场规模空前的创伤事件。除了数千人在袭击中丧生之外，还有成千上万的人在没有任何警告的情况下直接逃离了大楼，面临着严重的危险。还有一些没有直接生命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。这样的画面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，可以预见，许多直接遭受世贸中心袭击的人将在事件发生后的一两个月内恢复平衡并恢复正常功能。拟议研究的目标是理解这种非凡的弹性。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能够更好地应对极端不利的环境。本研究旨在探讨直接暴露于世贸中心袭击的自我增强个体（即世贸中心内或附近，或处于直接危险或目睹可怕的景象）是否比其他个体更好地应对。自我提升和长期适应之间的关系将通过多种测量来检验，包括压力反应的生物标记和由亲密的朋友和家人提供的参与者的适应评级。此外，本研究将进一步探讨自我提升的社会成本，以及它与整体适应和福祉的关系，包括比以往研究中使用的更广泛的社会关系测量。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.