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Finding social benefits after a collective trauma: Perceiving societal changes and well‐being following 9/11
Author(s) -
Poulin Michael J.,
Silver Roxane Cohen,
GilRivas Virginia,
Holman E. Alison,
McIntosh Daniel N.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of traumatic stress
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.259
H-Index - 134
eISSN - 1573-6598
pISSN - 0894-9867
DOI - 10.1002/jts.20391
Subject(s) - prosocial behavior , religiosity , psychology , distress , perception , terrorism , well being , life satisfaction , clinical psychology , social perception , affect (linguistics) , social psychology , developmental psychology , psychotherapist , political science , communication , neuroscience , law
Individuals frequently perceive positive changes in themselves following adversity; after a collective trauma, they may perceive such benefits in others or in their society as well. We examined perceived benefits of the September 11, 2001 (9/11) terrorist attacks in a 3‐year study of a national sample of adults ( N = 1382). Many individuals (57.8%) perceived social benefits of 9/11, including increased prosocial behavior, religiousness, or political engagement. Individuals who found increased national religiosity as a benefit 2 months post‐9/11 reported greater positive affect and life satisfaction and lower distress and posttraumatic stress up to 3 years post‐9/11. Pre‐9/11 religiousness and Republican political affiliation predicted perceiving religion‐related social benefits post‐9/11. Perceptions of social change are important but understudied responses to stressful events.