Predicting children's reactions to terrorist attacks: the importance of self-reports and preexisting characteristics.
Forty-eight mothers and their 11-year-old children, who were participants in a longitudinal study, were interviewed in their home after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Children's verbatim statements were analyzed for fear, separation anxiety, denial, rationalization, anger, and empathy. In the final model, preexisting child anxiety and maternal worry significantly explained 33% of the variance in children's self-reported fearful feelings.
Department of Human Development and Family Science, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA. hock.l@osu.edu
Ellen
E
Hock
Margaret
M
Hart
Min Ju
MJ
Kang
Wilma J
WJ
Lutz
D000328:Adult; D000786:Anger; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D001010:Anxiety, Separation / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003717:Denial, Psychological; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D004645:Empathy; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008425:Maternal Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011908:Rationalization; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012647:Self-Assessment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D023481:Terrorism / Q000523:psychology*