Terrorist attacks lead to the development of physiological, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral responses, which are normal human reactions to traumatic experiences. While these responses are not necessarily pathological or maladaptive indicators, they may indicate the presence of a psychological disorder, especially when experienced months or years after the traumatic event and accompanied by such symptomatic manifestations as recurrent nightmares, avoidance behaviors, and flashbacks that interfere with a person’s normal functioning. Notably, not all people who experience the traumatic event may develop these psychiatric disorders, illustrating disparities in people’s predisposition to such occurrences as acute stress disorder (ASD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Although all people can develop ASD and PTSD, such risk factors as race, family history of PTSD, depression, or ASD, coping skills, lack of social support, and gender significantly influence the likelihood of developing psychiatric disorders.
Risk Factors Associated with ASD or PTSD
Various risk factors significantly aggravate the likelihood of an individual to develop ASD or PTSD. For instance, people with histories of disorders, particularly depression and substance use disorders, before the occurrence of a traumatic event are more likely to get ASD or PTSD than those who did not have such conditions before the occurrence of the traumatic event (Basedow et al., 2020). Cumulative trauma, including histories of abuse and previous traumatic experiences, increases the likelihood of an individual developing ASD or PTSD after experiencing a traumatic eventuality (Brady & Back, 2012). For instance, an individual who was traumatized or abused during their childhood is already predisposed to conditions that worsen their likelihood of developing PTSD or ASD. Additionally, many racial and ethnic groups report higher rates of PTSD and ASD than their white counterparts. For instance, studies have illustrated that African Americans and Latino adults are at a higher likelihood of developing ASD or PTSD than white, indicating the influential role of race as a risk factor for developing the two psychiatric conditions (Sibrava et al., 2019). This implies that if white and black Americans experience a traumatic event, the African American will be predisposed to developing PTSD or ASD more than the white American due to racial differences. Further, compared to men, women are twice or thrice likely to acquire ASD or PTSD, illustrating the role of gender in the prevalence and development of the two conditions.
Why Some Survivors of Terrorism Develop ASD or PTSD While Others Do Not
Following the occurrence of a traumatic event such as terrorism, some survivors may develop ASD or PTSD while others do not. The difference between the likelihood of developing PTSD or ASD is due to various factors, including belonging to race, availability of social support, coping skills, and family history of psychiatric conditions. For instance, limited or inadequate social support and poor coping skills, including lower levels of perceived social support and avoidant coping strategies, are associated with the onset and subsequent aggravation of PTSD or ASD symptoms (Simon et al., 2019). Similarly, a family history of such psychiatric conditions as substance use and anxiety disorders are risk factors for PTSD and ASD. For instance, when two people survive a terror attack and one comes from a family with a history of mental illnesses, the latter is highly likely to develop PTSD or ASD compared to the one from a family with no history of psychiatric conditions. Therefore, family history of mental illnesses, a person’s coping mechanisms, availability of social support, and race influence the likelihood of a terrorism survivor developing ASD or PTSD.
Conclusion
Cognitive, physiological, emotional, and behavioral reactions are normal human responses to such traumatic occurrences as terror attacks. This implies that the appearance of these reactions does not indicate the presence of pathological or maladaptive responses but is indicative of normal human responses to such eventualities. However, where these reactions are experienced months or years after the traumatic event and accompanied by such symptoms as avoidance behaviors, recurrent nightmares, and flashbacks which disrupt the normal functioning of an individual, there is a possibility that a psychiatric disorder may have occurred. The occurrence of such disorders is highly influenced by family history of mental illnesses, race, gender, and previous traumatic experiences.
References
Basedow, L. A., Kuitunen-Paul, S., Roessner, V., & Golub, Y. (2020). Traumatic events and substance use disorders in adolescents. Frontier in Psychiatry, 11, 559. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00559
Brady, K. T., & Back, S. E. (2012). Childhood trauma, posttraumatic stress disorder, and alcohol dependence. Alcohol Research: Current Reviews, 34(4), 408–413.
Sibrava, N. J., Bjornsson, A. S., Pérez Benítez, A. C. I., Moitra, E., Weisberg, R. B., & Keller, M. B. (2019). Posttraumatic stress disorder in African American and Latinx adults: Clinical course and the role of racial and ethnic discrimination. The American Psychologist, 74(1), 101–116. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000339
Simon, N., Roberts, N. P., Lewis, C. E., van Gelderen, M. J., & Bisson, J. I. (2019). Associations between perceived social support, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex PTSD (CPTSD): Implications for treatment. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 10(1), 1573129. https://doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2019.1573129
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