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Religious and Spiritual Aspects of Disaster Experience Among Survivors of the 9/11 Attacks on New York City’s World Trade Center

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Abstract

This study examined religious and spiritual aspects of disaster experience among 379 survivors of the 9/11 attacks on New York City’s World Trade Center. Interviews conducted 35 months after the disaster provided structured diagnostic assessments of psychiatric disorders and specific detail of demographic characteristics, experience of the disaster, and variables related to religion and spirituality. The study participants overwhelmingly identified with a specific religion. The disaster appeared to have only modest effects on strength and importance of religion/spirituality, and changes were predominantly positive. Specific religions and faith groups differed in their disaster experience in important ways.

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Acknowledgements

This research was partially supported by National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Grant MH68853 to Dr. North.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Work, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA

    David E. Pollio & Omar T. Sims

  2. Department of Health Behavior, School of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA

    David E. Pollio & Omar T. Sims

  3. Center for AIDS Research, School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA

    David E. Pollio & Omar T. Sims

  4. Comprehensive Center for Healthy Aging, School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA

    Omar T. Sims

  5. Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid Ave., Campus Box 8134, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA

    Barry A. Hong

  6. The Altshuler Center for Education and Research, Metrocare Services, Dallas, TX, USA

    Anthony Pedrazine & Carol S. North

  7. Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA

    Anthony Pedrazine & Carol S. North

  8. School of Nursing, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA

    E. Whitney Pollio

Authors
  1. Barry A. Hong
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  2. David E. Pollio
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  3. E. Whitney Pollio
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  4. Omar T. Sims
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  5. Anthony Pedrazine
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  6. Carol S. North
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Barry A. Hong.

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The authors have no conflicts of interest to report.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent

The study protocol was approved by Institutional Review Boards of each participating institution, and patients provided written consent prior to participation.

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Hong, B.A., Pollio, D.E., Pollio, E.W. et al. Religious and Spiritual Aspects of Disaster Experience Among Survivors of the 9/11 Attacks on New York City’s World Trade Center. J Relig Health 58, 1619–1630 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-019-00785-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-019-00785-y

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