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A focus group study of the impact of trauma exposure in the 9/11 terrorist attacks

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Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Much of the mental health research that has emerged from the September 11 (9/11) attacks has been focused on posttraumatic stress disorder and its symptoms. To better understand the broader experience of individuals following a disaster, focus groups were conducted with individuals from affected companies both at Ground Zero and elsewhere in New York City.

Methods

Twenty-one focus groups with a total of 140 participants were conducted in the second post-9/11 year. Areas of identified concern were coded into the following themes: Disaster Experience, Emotional Responses, Workplace Issues, Coping, and Issues of Public Concern.

Results

Discussions of focus groups included material represented in all five themes in companies both at Ground Zero and elsewhere. The emphasis and the content within these themes varied between the Ground Zero and other companies. Content suggesting symptoms of PTSD represented only a minority of the material, especially in the company groups not at Ground Zero.

Conclusions

This study’s findings revealed an array of psychosocial concerns following the 9/11 attacks among employees of companies in New York City that extended far beyond PTSD. This study’s results provide further evidence that trauma exposure is central to individuals’ post-disaster experience and focus, and to individuals’ adjustment and experience after disaster.

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Acknowledgments

This research was partially supported by National Institute of Mental Health Grants MH68853 and MH66628-S1 and the National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism and the Office of State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness, US Department of Homeland Security MIPT106-113-2000-020. Dr. North also acknowledges employment by VA North Texas Health Care System, Dallas, TX, USA in support of this work.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. VA North Texas Health Care System, 4500 S. Lancaster Rd., Dallas, TX, 75216, USA

    Carol S. North

  2. The Nancy and Ray L. Hunt Chair in Crisis Psychiatry, Departments of Psychiatry and Emergency Medicine, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 6363 Forest Park Rd., Dallas, TX, 75390-8828, USA

    Carol S. North

  3. 10300 North Central Expressway, Suite 285, Dallas, TX, 75231, USA

    Carissa J. Barney

  4. School of Social Work, College of Arts and Sciences, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, 35487-0314, USA

    David E. Pollio

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  1. Carol S. North
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Correspondence to Carol S. North.

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North, C.S., Barney, C.J. & Pollio, D.E. A focus group study of the impact of trauma exposure in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 50, 569–578 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-014-0970-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-014-0970-5

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