An abundance of research has examined traumatic events ranging from individual events such as motor vehicle crashes and sexual assaults to community-wide events such as natural disasters, commercial airplane crashes, and community violence, as well as global events such as war.Īs defined by the The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fourth Edition (DSM-IV), a traumatic event-or witnessing such an event-triggers fear, helplessness, or horror in response to the perceived or actual threat of injury or death to the individual or to another (APA, 1994). The effect of traumatic events on human functioning has been a subject of study for many years. For a comprehensive review, the reader is referred to Holloway et al. This chapter is not meant to represent a thorough review of the trauma and disaster literature rather it is intended to highlight some of the salient and relevant findings that may direct responses to terrorism events. The chapter then describes the smaller body of research that specifically examines the consequences of terrorist attacks and discusses how the consequences of terrorism may differ from other types of traumatic events. It first reviews a sample of the literature on the psychological consequences of traumatic events and disasters. This chapter serves as a brief overview of the literature on traumatic events, disasters, and terrorism. Understanding these psychological consequences is critical to the nation's efforts to develop intervention strategies at the pre-event, event, and post-event phases that will limit the adverse psychological effects of terrorism. Psychological suffering is usually more prevalent than the physical injuries from a terrorism event. This fear can spread rapidly and is not limited to those experiencing the event directly-others that are affected include family members of victims and survivors, and people who are exposed through broadcast images.

Terrorism is intended to provoke collective fear and uncertainty.

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