September 11, 2001: Predicting Affective Reactions to Collective Loss (BCS-0202652, Heidi Wayment, Northern Arizona University). Although a great deal is known about how individuals react to personal bereavement, less is known about how individuals respond to collective loss. The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 were of such a magnitude as to significantly affect millions of people living in the United States, irrespective of whether they knew anyone personally who died or who narrowly escaped death. The purpose of this research is to examine the extent to which collective loss reactions may be similar to well-documented reactions to personal bereavement, such as grief and depression, or to survivor reactions, such as survivor guilt and anxiety. Results from the study will expand theoretical understanding of how individuals, even those thousands of miles away from the actual event, react to collective loss. In turn, this understanding may aid intervention efforts directed at coping with such loss.

American Identity Under Siege: Re-categorization at Ground Zero (BCS-0203970, Stephanie Goodwin, Purdue University). This research will examine Americans' national versus racial/ethnic identifications in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks. The research entails a multi-site study of white Americans' national identities and their inclusion of African- versus Arab-Americans relative to the broader category American. To date, empirical examinations of the malleability of identity and inter-group bias have been largely limited to manipulations involving minimal groups of relatively low self-importance to participants. The recent terrorist attacks represent a unique opportunity to explore the impact of extreme threats upon social identities of significant self-relevance. National identities such as these are likely to be stable except in times of relatively severe national threat.

A Social Cognitive Model for Processing Health Risk Information about Anthrax Fears (BCS-0204846, Len Lecci and Dale Cohen, U. of N.C., Wilmington). This research examines how individuals respond to a salient and pervasive health threat. This issue is particularly relevant in the context of recent biochemical terrorism involving anthrax. This research will determine whether individuals with health vulnerability beliefs are especially susceptible to anthrax fears, and whether perceived control can mitigate these fears. The research can also help us understand why individuals undertake, or fail to undertake, protective actions against various health threats.

The Costs and Benefits of Self-Enhancement: Coping with the Terrorist Attack on the World Trade Center (BCS-0202772, George Bonanno, Teachers College Columbia University). This project examines coping and resilience in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. A very large and important body of research is concerned with how people cope with stress and threats, and what factors contribute to most people's ability to be resilient -- to bounce back and move on productively with their lives. One of the effects found in recent research is that people who are pre-disposed toward positive self-enhancement are better able to cope with extreme adverse events and conditions. The current project extends this analysis in the context of the September 11 attacks. The study will examine how survivors of the WTC attack express emotions when they talk about their experiences. These data will help determine whether self-enhancers process emotions differently than other individuals and, if so, whether these differences hold the key to their unusual ability to cope with extreme adversity.

Mechanisms of Resilience in the Face of On-Going Threat (BCS-0204431, Lisa Feldman Barrett, Boston College). This research investigates the mechanisms by which people show resilient responses to the events surrounding the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The project focuses on how positive emotions allow for psychological resilience in the face of ongoing threat. Psychological resilience involves the ability to overcome stress and even thrive in the face of adversity. In light of the continuing threat and vulnerability associated with the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, including threats involving bioterrorism, war, and economic turbulence, it is important to examine the factors that protect individuals from developing negative psychological consequences associated with on-going stress of a serious nature. The aim of the project is to conduct initial tests of a conceptual model, which illustrates how positive emotions promote psychological resilience.

Coping with Community-based Traumatic Events: The Columbine High School Shootings and the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks (BCS-9910223, Roxane Silver, UC Irvine). Past research has examined how people respond to traumatic life experiences. However, little is known about how cognitive, social, and emotional responses to trauma interact and develop over time. In addition, very few studies have looked at how adolescents cope with traumatic events, and almost no research has investigated the similarities and differences among family members who are experiencing the same traumatic event. The recent Littleton, Colorado school shooting and the terrorist attacks of September 11 offer compelling and important contexts in which to study these issues. The goal of this research is to document the variability in acute responses to a community trauma among both adolescents and adults, in an effort to identify early predictors of long-term adjustment to trauma. Results from this research will have both theoretical and practical utility in understanding the psychological aftermath of human-made as well as natural disasters.