Searching for and finding meaning in collective trauma: results from a national longitudinal study of the 9/11 terrorist attacks

Abstract

The ability to make sense of events in one's life has held a central role in theories of adaptation to adversity. However, there are few rigorous studies on the role of meaning in adjustment, and those that have been conducted have focused predominantly on direct personal trauma. The authors examined the predictors and long-term consequences of Americans' searching for and finding meaning in a widespread cultural upheaval--the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001--among a national probability sample of U.S. adults (N=931). Searching for meaning at 2 months post-9/11 was predicted by demographics and high acute stress response. In contrast, finding meaning was predicted primarily by demographics and specific early coping strategies. Whereas searching for meaning predicted greater posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms across the following 2 years, finding meaning predicted lower PTS symptoms, even after controlling for pre-9/11 mental health, exposure to 9/11, and acute stress response. Mediation analyses suggest that finding meaning supported adjustment by reducing fears of future terrorism. Results highlight the role of meaning in adjustment following collective traumas that shatter people's fundamental assumptions about security and invulnerability.

Figure 1

Mediation of posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms at 1 and 2 years (yr) post-9/11 by fears of terrorist attacks at 1 year. Covariates (not shown) include pre-9/11 psychological diagnoses, proximity, exposure, acute stress response, and degree of searching at 2 months (mos) post-9/11. B values are unstandardized regression coefficients, and standard errors are in parentheses. Statistics and significance tests for paths predicting fears are from regressions that assume a normal outcome distribution; statistics and tests for paths predicting PTS symptoms are from regressions that assume a negative binomial outcome distribution. Standardized coefficients (β’s) are also provided; however, these β’s are derived from separate analyses that used an inverse and reflected transformation of PTS symptom scores and assumed a normal outcome distribution and are thus approximations for comparison purposes only. ^† p =.08. ^* p < .05. ^** p < .01.