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The Mental Health of Children and Adolescents Exposed to 9/11: Lessons Learned and Still to be Learned

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World Trade Center Pulmonary Diseases and Multi-Organ System Manifestations

Abstract

The mental health effects of 9/11 on children and adolescents have often been viewed through the same lens as the effects on adults. Yet, children differ from adults in multiple ways and have specific vulnerabilities and dependencies that can moderate the impact of exposure to disasters. This chapter provides an overview of the studies that investigated psychopathological outcomes attributed to the attack on the World Trade Center among youth ages 0–18 years on 9/11 in order to identify which categories of youth were most affected, how they were affected, and which risk factors contributed to these outcomes. The chapter considers the effects of 9/11 not only on those in close proximity to the World Trade Center but also those who were indirectly exposed through their families, as well as those exposed through the media. This body of research is critically evaluated, evaluating which lessons have been learned, what has been missed, and how we might better protect our youth in the future, in the face of mass trauma.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Community Mental Health, University of Haifa, 199 Aba Khoushy Avenue, Haifa, 3498838, Israel

    Talya Greene

  2. Division of Psychiatry, The Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel

    Raz Gross

  3. Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, PO Box 39040, Tel Aviv, 6997801, Israel

    Raz Gross

  4. Clinical Psychiatry, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA

    Lawrence Amsel

  5. New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, 10032, USA

    Lawrence Amsel

  6. New York Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY, 10032, USA

    Lawrence Amsel

  7. Epidemiology and Psychiatry, Columbia University-NYSPI, New York, NY, 10032, USA

    Christina W. Hoven

  8. Department of Child Psychiatric Epidemiology, Columbia University-NYSPI, New York, NY, 10032, USA

    Christina W. Hoven

Authors
  1. Talya Greene
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  2. Raz Gross
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  3. Lawrence Amsel
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  4. Christina W. Hoven
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Talya Greene .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Columbia University Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Epidemiology Group, CDC NIOSH U01 0H011308 “9/11 Trauma and Toxicity in Childhood: Longitudinal Health and Behavioral Outcomes”, New York, New York, USA

    Anthony M. Szema

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Greene, T., Gross, R., Amsel, L., Hoven, C.W. (2018). The Mental Health of Children and Adolescents Exposed to 9/11: Lessons Learned and Still to be Learned. In: Szema, A. (eds) World Trade Center Pulmonary Diseases and Multi-Organ System Manifestations. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-59372-2_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-59372-2_9

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-59372-2

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