title: Defining a moment in history: parent communication with adolescents about September 11, 2001.
abstract: Parents play an important role in helping their children process and interpret significant sociohistorical events. However, little is known about how parents frame these experiences or the specific social, cultural, and civic messages they may communicate about the event. In this study, we examined self-reported communication of parents from six communities in the United States with their adolescents about the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Parents' (N = 972) open-ended responses about September 11th were analyzed to assess whether communication with their adolescents occurred and for thematic content. Results revealed marked variability in parents' communication and suggest that many parents used September 11th as an opportunity to impart sociocultural, emotional, and civic messages. Identifying the diversity in parents' responses aligns with the tenets of Terror Management Theory and provides insights into the roles of parents in translating pivotal historical moments. Collectively, these findings yield important implications for civic socialization.
authors: Department of Psychology, Eastern University, 1300 Eagle Road, St. Davids, PA 19087, USA. tstoppa@eastern.edu
authors: Tara M
authors: TM
authors: Stoppa
authors: Laura
authors: L
authors: Wray-Lake
authors: Amy K
authors: AK
authors: Syvertsen
authors: Constance
authors: C
authors: Flanagan
references: J Soc Psychol. 2005 Jun;145(3):265-86
references: 15960000
references: J Res Adolesc. 2010 Sep 1;20(3):748-773
references: 20936077
references: Psychiatr Clin North Am. 2004 Sep;27(3):491-504
references: 15325489
references: Pers Soc Psychol Rev. 2003;7(1):20-40
references: 12584055
references: J Pers Soc Psychol. 2008 Apr;94(4):696-717
references: 18361679
references: J Pers Soc Psychol. 2003 Feb;84(2):365-76
references: 12585810
references: N Engl J Med. 2001 Nov 15;345(20):1507-12
references: 11794216
references: Anxiety Stress Coping. 2007 Jun;20(2):109-28
references: 17999219
references: Am J Orthopsychiatry. 2004 Oct;74(4):509-28
references: 15554812
references: Am J Psychiatry. 1999 Oct;156(10):1536-44
references: 10518163
references: J Trauma Stress. 2007 Dec;20(6):1063-8
references: 18157889