The Effects of 9-11

A significant number of Americans are still feeling the mental health effects of the terrorist attacks on September 11th, and large majorities say they are reexamining their priorities in life, a new survey has found.

The survey, commissioned by The Infinite Mind public radio series and the American Psychological Association, also finds that people living in the New York area and people who have experienced past traumatic events are more likely than others to be showing signs of mental health problems five months after the attacks.

Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research conducted the survey of 1,900 Americans from January 30th to February 2, 2002. The results are featured on an upcoming two-hour radio special of The Infinite Mind, entitled "State of Mind: America 2002," which will begin airing this week across the country.

Among the findings:

Nearly one in four Americans (24 percent) report feeling more depressed or anxious today than at other times in their life.

And while most of these Americans attribute their feelings of depression or anxiety to personal trauma or financial woes, 16 percent say their depressed or anxious mood is a direct result of September 11th. In real terms, there are about 8 million Americans who report they are feeling depressed or anxious because of the attacks on New York and Washington

The survey finds that the impact of September 11th is not limited to those areas directly hit in the attacks - 40 percent of Americans say that they were seriously affected by the terrorist attacks on a personal level.

The survey also shows that many Americans are bouncing back from the trauma:

Eighty-one percent of Americans agree that in the aftermath of September 11th that they are trying to look beyond setbacks in their lives and move on.

And only 21 percent of Americans say that they are worried that a member of their family will become a victim of a terrorist attack - down significantly from these worries in the immediate aftermath of the attacks.

"Without question the events of September 11th have had a real impact on this country's mental health," says Russ Newman, Ph.D., J.D., Executive Director for Professional Practice at the American Psychological Association. "Yet, this survey also shows that Americans are quite resilient and are working their way back from this tragedy."

The survey also finds that Americans are reexamining their lives in light of the events on September 11th.

More than three-quarters of Americans (77 percent) agree that they have tried to simplify their lives and focus more on what really matters.

Seventy-one percent of Americans report having spent more time trying to gain perspective on their lives.

Significant numbers of New York area residents are still hurting, however.

New Yorkers are almost twice as likely as people elsewhere to report having experienced an array of symptoms commonly associated with depression (9 percent in New York vs. 5 percent nationally), anxiety (6 percent in New York vs. 3 percent nationally), and post-traumatic stress (12 percent in New York vs. 5 percent nationally).

New Yorkers who say their mental health has declined are also twice as likely as those nationally to cite September 11th for their feelings of depression or anxiety.

At a more basic level, 40 percent of New York area residents - twice the national average - say they "get nervous when they hear sirens or airplanes overhead."

People who report having experienced past traumatic incidents - being in combat, abuse as a child, life-threatening accidents - are also significantly more likely to report symptoms commonly associated with depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress.

"It would be a mistake to assume that time is healing everyone's emotional wounds at the same rate," said Bill Lichtenstein, executive producer of The Infinite Mind radio series. "This research indicates that there is a significant