Hostname: page-component-89b8bd64d-z2ts4 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-05-11T08:37:27.171Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Media Contact and Posttraumatic Stress in Employees of New York City Area Businesses after the September 11 Attacks

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 September 2020

Betty Pfefferbaum ,
Jayme Palka  and
Carol S. North
Betty Pfefferbaum*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, College of Medicine, The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK
Jayme Palka
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
Carol S. North
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX Metrocare Services, Dallas, TX
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Betty Pfefferbaum, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, College of Medicine, The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, PO Box 26901 – WP3217, Oklahoma City, OK 73126-0901 (e-mail: Betty-Pfefferbaum@ouhsc.edu)
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objective:

The objective of this study was to examine associations between media contact and posttraumatic stress in a sample with a large number of individuals who were directly exposed to the September 11, 2001 (9/11) attacks and to compare outcomes in exposed and unexposed participants.

Methods:

Structured interviews and questionnaires were administered to a volunteer sample of 254 employees of New York City businesses 35 months after the attacks to document disaster trauma exposures, posttraumatic stress outcomes, and media contact and reactions.

Results:

Media variables were not associated with psychopathological outcomes in exposed participants, but media contact in the first week after the attacks and feeling moderately/extremely bothered by graphic 9/11 media images were associated with re-experiencing symptoms in both the exposed and unexposed participants. Feeling moderately/extremely bothered by graphic media images was associated with hyperarousal symptoms in exposed participants.

Conclusions:

The findings suggest that media contact did not lead to psychopathology in exposed individuals, although it was associated with normative distress in both exposure groups. Because of the potential for adverse effects associated with media contact, clinicians and public health professionals are encouraged to discuss concerns about mass trauma media contact with their patients and the public at large.

Keywords

disaster trauma exposuremediaposttraumatic stressSeptember 11 attacksterrorism

Information

Type
Original Research
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 16 , Issue 1 , February 2022 , pp. 163 - 169
Copyright
Copyright © 2020 Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc.

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

REFERENCES

Houston, JB. Media coverage of terrorism: a meta-analytic assessment of media use and posttraumatic stress. J Mass Commun Q. 2009;86(4):844–861.Google Scholar
Pfefferbaum, B, Newman, E, Nelson, SD, et al. Disaster media coverage and psychological outcomes: descriptive findings in the extant research. Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2014;16:464.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pfefferbaum, B, Nitiéma, P, Newman, E. Is viewing mass trauma television coverage associated with trauma reactions in adults and youth? A meta-analytic review. J Trauma Stress. 2019;32:175–185.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ahern, J, Galea, S, Resnick, H, et al. Television images and psychological symptoms after the September 11 terrorist attacks. Psychiatry. 2002;65(4):289–300.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ahern, J, Galea, S, Resnick, H, Vlahov, D. Television images and probable posttraumatic stress disorder after September 11. The role of background characteristics, event exposures, and perievent panic. J Nerv Ment Dis. 2004;192(3):217–226.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ahern, J, Galea, S, Resnick, H, Vlahov, D. Television watching and mental health in the general population of New York City after September 11. J Aggress Maltreat Trauma. 2004;9(1/2):109–124.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bernstein, KT, Ahern, J, Tracy, M, et al. Television watching and the risk of incident probable posttraumatic stress disorder. A prospective evaluation. J Nerv Ment Dis. 2007;195(1):41–47.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cardeña, E, Dennis, JM, Winkel, M, Skitka, LJ. A snapshot of terror: acute posttraumatic responses to the September 11 attack. J Trauma Dissoc. 2005;6(2):69–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cardenas, J, Williams, K, Wilson, JP, et al. PTSD, major depressive symptoms, and substance abuse following September 11, 2001, in a midwestern university population. Int J Emerg Ment Health. 2003;5(1):15–28.Google Scholar
Cho, J, Boyle, MP, Keum, H, et al. Media, terrorism, and emotionality: emotional differences in media content and public reactions to the September 11th terrorist attacks. J Broadcast Electron Media. 2003;47(3):309–327.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Collimore, KC, McCabe, RE, Carleton, RN, Asmundson, GJG. Media exposure and dimensions of anxiety sensitivity: differential associations with PTSD symptom clusters. J Anxiety Dis. 2008;22(6):1021–1028.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gershoff, ET, Aber, JL, Ware, A, Kotler, JA. Exposure to 9/11 among youth and their mothers in New York City: enduring associations with mental health and sociopolitical attitudes. Child Dev. 2010;81(4):1142–1160.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grieger, TA, Waldrep, DA, Lovasz, MM, Ursano, RJ. Follow-up of Pentagon employees two years after the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001. Psychiatry Serv. 2005;56(11):1374–1378.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Holman, EA, Silver, RC, Poulin, M, et al. Terrorism, acute stress, and cardiovascular health. A 3-year national study following the September 11 attacks. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2008;65(1):73–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huddy, L, Feldman, S, Lahav, G, Taber, C. Fear and terrorism: psychological reactions to 9/11. In: Norris, P, Kern, M, Jest, M, eds. Framing Terrorism: The News Media, the Government, and the Public. New York, NY: Routledge/Taylor and Francis Group; 2003:255–278.Google Scholar
Schlenger, WE, Caddell, JM, Ebert, L, et al. Psychological reactions to terrorist attacks. Findings from the National Study of Americans’ Reactions to September 11. JAMA. 2002;288:581–588.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schuster, MA, Stein, BD, Jaycox, LH, et al. A national survey of stress reactions after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. N Engl J Med. 2001;345(20):1507–1512.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Silver, RC, Holman, EA, Andersen, JP, et al. Mental- and physical-health effects of acute exposure to media images of the September 11, 2001, attacks and the Iraq war. Psychol Sci. 2013;24(9):1623–1634.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Silver, RC, Holman, EA, McIntosh, DN, et al. Nationwide longitudinal study of psychological responses to September 11. JAMA. 2002;288(10):1235–1244.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rubin, AM, Haridakis, PM, Hullman, GA, et al. Television exposure not predictive of terrorism fear. Newspaper Res J. 2003;24(1):128–145.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dougall, AL, Hayward, MC, Baum, A. Media exposure to bioterrorism: stress and the anthrax attacks. Psychiatry. 2005;68(1):28–42.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Garfin, DR, Holman, EA, Silver, RC. Cumulative exposure to prior collective trauma and acute stress responses to the Boston marathon bombings. Psychol Sci. 2015;26(6):675–683.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holman, EA, Garfin, DR, Lubens, P, Silver, RC. Media exposure to collective trauma, mental health, and functioning: does it matter what you see? Clin Psychol Sci. 2020;8(1):111–124.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holman, EA, Garfin, DR, Silver, RC. Media’s role in broadcasting acute stress following the Boston Marathon bombings. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2014;111(1):93–98.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Monfort, E, Afzali, MH. Traumatic stress symptoms after the November 13th 2015 terrorist attacks among young adults: the relation to media and emotion regulation. Compr Psychiatry. 2017;75:68–74.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. 5th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association; 2013.Google Scholar
American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. 4th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association; 1994.Google Scholar
North, CS, Pollio, DE, Smith, RP, et al. Trauma exposure and posttraumatic stress disorder among employees of New York City companies affected by the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2011;5:S205–S213.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Robins, LN, Cottler, LB, Compton, WM, et al. Diagnostic interview schedule for the DSM-IV (DIS-IV). St. Louis, MO: Washington University; 2000.Google Scholar
North, CS, Pfefferbaum, B, Robins, LN, Smith, EM. The disaster supplement to the diagnostic interview schedule for DSM-IV (DIS-IV/DS). St. Louis, MO: Washington University; 2001.Google Scholar
North, CS, Pfefferbaum, B. The diagnostic interview schedule/disaster supplement questionnaire. St. Louis, MO: Washington University; 2002.Google Scholar
North, CS, Pfefferbaum, B, Hong, BA, et al. The business of healing: focus group discussions of readjustment to the post-9/11 work environment among employees of affected agencies. J Occup Environ Med. 2010;52:713–718.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
North, CS, Pfefferbaum, B, Hong, BA, et al. Workplace response of companies exposed to the 9/11 World Trade Center attack: a focus-group study. Disasters. 2013;37:101–118.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Breslau, N, Lucia, VC, Davis, GC. Partial PTSD versus full PTSD: an empirical examination of associated impairment. Psychol Med. 2004;34:1205–1214.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ehlers, A, Mayou, RA, Bryant, B. Psychological predictors of chronic posttraumatic stress disorder after motor vehicle accidents. J Abnorm Psychol. 1998;107(3):508–519.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Maes, M, Delmeire, L, Schotte, C, et al. Epidemiologic and phenomenological aspects of post-traumatic stress disorder: DSM-III-R diagnosis and diagnostic criteria not validated. Psychiatry Res. 1998;81(2):179–193.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
North, CS, Oliver, J. Analysis of the longitudinal course of PTSD in 716 survivors of 10 disasters. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2013;48:1189–1197.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
North, CS, Suris, AM, Davis, M, Smith, RP. Toward validation of the diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder. Am J Psychiatry. 2009;166:34–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whitman, JB, North, CS, Downs, DL, Spitznagel, EL. A prospective study of the onset of PTSD symptoms in the first month after trauma exposure. Ann Clin Psychiatry. 2013;25(2):e8–e17.Google ScholarPubMed
Pfefferbaum, B, North, CS, Pfefferbaum, RL, et al. Incident-related television viewing and psychiatric disorders in Oklahoma City bombing survivors. Int J Emerg Mental Health Hum Resil. 2012;14(4):247–256.Google ScholarPubMed
Murphy, J, Brackbill, RM, Thalji, L, et al. Measuring and maximizing coverage in the World Trade Center Health Registry. Stat Med. 2007;26:1688–1701.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harvey, AG, Bryant, RA. Memory for acute stress disorder symptoms. A two-year prospective study. J Nerv Ment Dis. 2000;188(9):602–607.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brennan, AM, Stewart, HA, Jamhour, N, et al. An examination of the retrospective recall of psychological distress. J Forensic Neuropsychol. 2005;4(4):99–110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pfefferbaum, B, Nitiéma, P, Pfefferbaum, RL, et al. Reactions of Oklahoma City bombing survivors to media coverage of the September 11, 2001, attacks. Compr Psychiatry. 2016;65:70–78.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed