Grief Research
Grief Related to September 11, 2001
Complicated Grief among 9/11 Bereaved (#4603)
Principal Investigator: Yuval Neria, PhD
* Not currently recruiting participants
Overview of the Study:
The nature and scope of the events on and after 9-11-01, and the sheer number of lost lives as a result of the terrorist attacks is unprecedented. Although we have enough prior knowledge to expect that large numbers of people are at risk for chronic grief, the on-going psychological struggle of individuals bereaved by mass violence is understudied.
This study was designed to gather data on several grief related domains, including: (a) the prevalence of complicated grief, (b) functional impairment resulting from loss on 9-11-01, (c) risk and resilience factors, (d) the extent of need for psychosocial services among the bereaved, and (e) barriers to care.
Preliminary data from more than 700 subjects (Neria et al., 2007: Bonanno, Neria, et al., 2007) collected via the internet 2.5-3.5 years after the attacks, suggests that 43% of a study group of bereaved adults across the U.S. screened positive for complicated grief (CG). CG was associated with female gender, loss of a child, death of deceased at the World Trade Center, and live exposure to coverage of the attacks on television. PTSD, major depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and increase in post-9/11 smoking were common among participants with CG. A majority of the participants with CG reported receiving grief counseling and psychiatric medication after 9/11.