National traumas affect our health

People's gender and ethnicity predicted their immediate response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks and their general state of health over the following two years, a study by psychologists at the University at Buffalo (N.Y.) and the University of California, Irvine, has found.

This study may prevent researchers and policymakers from mistakenly assuming that everyone responds the same way to these disasters, indicate the authors. It can justify the design of intervention efforts that target those most vulnerable to terrorist actions over time.

The subject's sex and ethnicity were associated with his or her immediate emotional response, initial endorsement of specific actions, and long-term health outcomes. "We used a panel of study subjects that was in place before Sept. 11, 2001, which made it possible for us to assess and account for pretrauma mental and physical health, a rarity in trauma research," explains Mark D. Seery, assistant professor in the UB Department of Psychology.

"Taken as a whole, our findings demonstrate that men and whites were more likely to adopt a problem-focused approach to coping with the trauma, while women and those of nonwhite ethnicity were more likely to adopt an emotion-based approach. Both approaches, in terms of long-term health, he adds, contain "positive and negative aspects.

"Whites and men in this study expressed fewer sad and sympathetic responses to 9/11 than did women and other ethnicities [African-Americans, Hispanics, and a third category made up largely of Asian-Americans]. This would predict better long-term health for them, except for the propensity of whites and men to advocate violent retaliation, which was associated with poorer health outcomes over time."

The only significant interaction between ethnicity and sex was for the number of physician-diagnosed ailments. Hispanic men had marginally fewer than did white men and Hispanic women had significantly more than did white women.

Specific early emotional reactions to the events of 9/11 were associated with more negative health effects over time. Those expressing sadness reported higher levels of posttraumatic stress syndrome symptoms from two to six months after 9/11. Those who expressed sympathy suffered marginally higher PTS symptoms from 12 to 24 months post 9/11. There were no significant effects for expressing anger.

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