Coping and anxiety in college students after the September 11th terrorist attacks

This study investigated the presence of a stress response after the September 11(th) terrorist attacks in a sample of indirectly affected college students living in Boston, Massachusetts. Anxiety was examined at two time intervals, approximately 2 and 4 months after the attacks. Methods of coping with the stress of the attacks (assessed using the COPE Inventory) and their impact on initial and longer-term anxiety were also examined. Results demonstrated that the majority of college students in the study were severely psychologically impacted initially by the terrorist attacks. However, this initial impact appears to decay over time for most people. Several potentially maladaptive coping strategies were found to be predictive of initial anxiety, including denial, behavioral disengagement, mental disengagement, and focus on and venting of emotions. However, only focus on and venting of emotions was found to be uniquely predictive of longer-term anxiety.