Abstract
College students who had experienced no personal bereavement in the September 11 terrorist attacks completed questionnaires between 3 and 5 weeks after the attacks and 5 months later. Cross-sectional and longitudinal structural equation model (SEM) analyses revealed that general distress and disaster-focused distress are discernable reactions following a collective loss. Both types of distress were higher among women and by those reporting social strain. General distress was associated with previous stressful events and mental health issues. Perceived similarity to the victims predicted disaster-focused distress and mediated the relationship between attending to media accounts of victims and disaster-focused distress. Only the disaster-focused distress reactions of survivor guilt and grief were associated with collective helping behaviors after the attacks and, for women, these behaviors were associated with greater reductions in these distress reactions over time. Discussion focuses on the importance of examining disaster-focused distress reactions following collective loss.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 515-528 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin |
| Volume | 30 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| State | Published - Apr 2004 |
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Keywords
- Collective helping behavior
- Collective loss
- Grief
- Perceived similarity
- Survivor guilt
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Psychology(all)
- Social Psychology
Cite this
It Could Have Been Me : Vicarious Victims and Disaster-Focused Distress. / Wayment, Heidi A.
In: Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Vol. 30, No. 4, 04.2004, p. 515-528.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
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TY - JOUR
T1 - It Could Have Been Me
T2 - Vicarious Victims and Disaster-Focused Distress
AU - Wayment, Heidi A
PY - 2004/4
Y1 - 2004/4
N2 - College students who had experienced no personal bereavement in the September 11 terrorist attacks completed questionnaires between 3 and 5 weeks after the attacks and 5 months later. Cross-sectional and longitudinal structural equation model (SEM) analyses revealed that general distress and disaster-focused distress are discernable reactions following a collective loss. Both types of distress were higher among women and by those reporting social strain. General distress was associated with previous stressful events and mental health issues. Perceived similarity to the victims predicted disaster-focused distress and mediated the relationship between attending to media accounts of victims and disaster-focused distress. Only the disaster-focused distress reactions of survivor guilt and grief were associated with collective helping behaviors after the attacks and, for women, these behaviors were associated with greater reductions in these distress reactions over time. Discussion focuses on the importance of examining disaster-focused distress reactions following collective loss.
AB - College students who had experienced no personal bereavement in the September 11 terrorist attacks completed questionnaires between 3 and 5 weeks after the attacks and 5 months later. Cross-sectional and longitudinal structural equation model (SEM) analyses revealed that general distress and disaster-focused distress are discernable reactions following a collective loss. Both types of distress were higher among women and by those reporting social strain. General distress was associated with previous stressful events and mental health issues. Perceived similarity to the victims predicted disaster-focused distress and mediated the relationship between attending to media accounts of victims and disaster-focused distress. Only the disaster-focused distress reactions of survivor guilt and grief were associated with collective helping behaviors after the attacks and, for women, these behaviors were associated with greater reductions in these distress reactions over time. Discussion focuses on the importance of examining disaster-focused distress reactions following collective loss.
KW - Collective helping behavior
KW - Collective loss
KW - Grief
KW - Perceived similarity
KW - Survivor guilt
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=1842589231&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Article
VL - 30
SP - 515
EP - 528
JO - Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
JF - Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
SN - 0146-1672
IS - 4
ER -