911

Posted: August 25th, 2021

911

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911

The September, 11 attack was an event that involved four coordinated terrorist attacks on U.S soil. It was one of the worst events in U.S history that claimed over two thousand (2000) lives of both U.S and non-U. S. citizens besides leaving casualties and impacts that are still being felt today. Responses to terrorism activities on 911 involved unique human-made actions that have deeply affected the U.S., the local and state economies. Based on these occurrences, the following research examines the various psychological impacts and associated risks that have been witnessed following the attack as well as its implications on vulnerable populations.

Groups at Risk for Adverse Psychological Outcomes Due to 911 Attacks

            The September 11, 2001 terror attacks on New York City’s World Trade Center (WTC) were unprecedented in magnitude and psychological impacts. Close to three thousand people lost their lives and more than six thousand people were left with severe injuries. Additionally, property worth billions of dollars were destroyed(Kent,2019). Even though the 911 attacks appear to have brought about dire economic, political, social effects to the nation at large, the associated psychological repercussions were the most severe since they have remained etched in many people in the U.S. despite the time that has elapsed since the attacks took place. The severity of these psychological outcomes varies from one group to another within the U.S. population.

            People who were directly affected by the terror attack recorded higher incidences of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These are either people who lost their loved ones or people who witnessed the attack firsthand under them living close to the World Trade Center at the time of the attack(Kent,2019). In addition to PTSD, people who lost their loved ones through the attack developed dire psychological problems such as depression and anxiety as was revealed by surveys that were conducted within six months from the time of the attack (Yip et al., 2016). Furthermore, these surveys showed that the group suffered functional impairment and work loss. Ordinarily, PTSD is expected to fade off with time. However, the fact some of the people who were directly impacted still exhibit mental ailments more than fifteen years after the 911 attack suggests the deep extent to which they were affected.

            Away from where the WTC is located, other segments of the US population were equally affected psychologicallyby the 911 attacks. For example, the low-income New Yorkers. A study by the National Mortality Institute revealed that suicide rates among low income New Yorkers declined significantly within six months after the attack(Birkland, 2014). The study also showed that low income New Yorkers already exposed to their stress and trauma exhibited a higher chance of suffering from persistent depression. Elsewhere in the U.S. populace, the 911 attacks generated fear due to their worry about further terrorist attacks in other parts of the country. There was also a heightened suspicion of non-Americans, especially people of Arab descent.Thus, a large number of American citizens migrated to other parts of the world deemed to be less prone to terror attacks at the time.

The Psychological Impact of Terrorism-Related Economic Loss

            Equally, terrorism poses immense economic losses which in turn inflictpsychological discomfort to the players of the affected country’s economy. For the case of 911, global stock markets dropped sharply shortly after the attacks(Procasky & Ujah, 2016). Trading on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) was canceled on the day of the attack. Afterward, the entire NYSE, nearby banks and financial institutions at Wall Street were evacuated. Elsewhere in the world, the London stock exchange and other leading bourses were closed down and evacuated for fear of follow-up terror attacks(Birkland, 2014). Further, the United States Dollar declined sharply in value against other major world currencies following the 911 attacks (Procasky & Ujah, 2016). All these occurrences clearly illustrate the emotional turmoil that must have overwhelmed financial markets investors not just in the US but also in other parts of the globe at the time. While prospective investors shied away from investing in American stocks, existing investors counted losses amounting to millions of dollars due to the devaluation of their investments.

            The transport and tourism sectors were also hit heavily by the 911 attacks. All the flights scheduled to land in any of New York’s airports on a fateful day were canceled, thus, causing untold inconveniences to families that were set to reunite as well as tourists on vacation(Birkland, 2014). For a long time before the attack, tourism had acted as a leading source of foreign exchange not only for the New York state but also for the entire U.S. at large. With the occurrence of 911, however, immense fear grew among all the prospective tourists from other parts of the world as was evidenced by a reduced number of tourists in the ensuing period after the attack(Procasky & Ujah, 2016). To further cement this fear, many countries issued travel advisories to their citizens who had intentions of traveling to the U.S. at the time. It is, therefore, apparent that the fear for safety among the global populace that was occasioned by the 911 attack denied New York and the US significant economic gains.

Application of Psychological Resilience Principles on the Terror-affected Populace

            Resilience refers to the ability to bounce back and even grow after the occurrence of a major disaster(Birkland, 2014). For understandable reasons, individuals who were highly exposed to the 911 attacks have exhibited lower resilience levels when examined by relevant mental health agencies(Procasky & Ujah, 2016). In an attempt to ensure an improved level of resilience across the entire population that was directly and indirectly affected by the WTC bombing in 2001, it is necessary to employ well-established strategies that are fully compliant with the three core principles of psychological resilience, i.e. control, connectedness, and coherence.

            These principles are implemented in many different ways. First, encouraging the affected population to take news breaks. It has been established that watching endless news coverage of terror attacks increases the stress levels of the affected people.Principally, taking news breaks would hasten the healing process (Kent, 2019). Secondly, building and maintaining social networks among the affected people. This strategy helps provide a sense of normalcy within the affected groups, thus, they can share their inner feelings and in the process relieve their stress. Thirdly, it is important to help the affected population put things in perspective. To achieve this, concerted efforts from relevant government agencies and social workers should be geared towards making the affected groups appreciate the many things that are sources of positive strength and well-being, and thus, treat the terror incident as just one rotten apple among many other good ones.

The Impacts of 911 Attacks on Vulnerable Populations and Public Policy-making Events

            Besides causing massive loss of lives and destruction to property, the 911 terrorist attacks deeply scarred the American consciousness which in turn resulted in deep running ramifications on both the vulnerable populations and the US foreign policy(Birkland, 2014). In the US, vulnerable populations comprise of racial minorities, children, the underinsured, the elderly, and the socioeconomically disadvantaged. The occurrence of the 911 attacks heightened the public suspicion towards Muslims and immigrants from the Middle East region, oftentimes branding these people as terrorists(Birkland, 2014). Increasingly, Arab immigrants with improperly documented citizenship status were deported back to their home countries ‘as an effort to protect Americans from possible terror attacks.’ Indirectly, this practice has persisted even to the current Trump administration(Kent, 2019). The perception that the general American populace had towards Muslims before the attacks changed totally for the worst after the 911 attacks. Barack Obama’s resolve to build a mosque in Washington DC during his tenure as president was widely viewed as an effort aimed at changing that perception.

 Foreign relations between the US and the rest of the world were also significantly damaged. Countries with the most savored relations with the US were mainly from the Middle East Region following the Al Qaeda terror group’s claim of responsibility for the 911 attacks(Yip et al., 2016). As expected, the ensuing period after the 2001 attacks has come along with drastic changes in America’s public policy-making procedures for both domestic security and foreign policy. For example, in response to the overwhelming public sentiment and the heightened sense of vulnerability shortly after the attack, the Bush administration set up the Homeland Security Department with Tom Ridge as its first director as an effort to improve the country’s ability to cope with terrorism (Birkland, 2014). Secondly, the diplomatic relationship between the US and Iraq took an interesting turn following the attack. America began to be more interested in controlling Iraq’s affairs through such initiatives as effecting regime changes than just being interested in Iraq’s oil(Yip et al., 2016). To drive America’s policy on Iraq and the wider Middle East Region, successive administrations in the US have employed extensive media coverage to extents never witnessed before the 911 attacks. As a result, the idea that Iraq and other Middle East countries are hotbeds of terrorism has been cemented in a large proportion of the global citizenry’s minds in recent years.

References

Birkland, T. A. (2014). “The World Changed Today”: Agenda‐Setting and Policy Change in the Wake of the September 11 Terrorist Attacks. Review of Policy Research, 21(2), 179-200.

Kent, D. (2019). Giving meaning to everyday work after terrorism. Organization Studies, 40(7), 975-994.

Procasky, W. J., & Ujah, N. U. (2016). Terrorism and its impact on the cost of debt. Journal of International Money and Finance, 60, 253-266.

Yip, J., Zeig-Owens, R., Webber, M. P., Kablanian, A., Hall, C. B., Vossbrinck, M.,& Prezant, D. J. (2016). World Trade Center-related physical and mental health burden among the New York City Fire Department emergency medical service workers. Occup Environ Med, 73(1), 13-20.