Mental Health Consequences of September Terrorist Attack - Essay Example

?Research Paper Review Insert Insert Grade Insert Research Paper Review Introduction This paper seeks to review two research study journals and then compare and contrast them. The first journal is titled The Mental Health Consequences of Disaster-Related Loss: Findings from Primary Care One Year after the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks. This research was carried out by the following researchers: Yuval Neria, Mark Olfson, Marc J. Gameroff, Priya Wickramaratne, Raz Gross, Daniel J. Pilowsky, Carlos Blanco, Julian Manetti-Cusa, Rafael Lantigua, Steven Shea, and Myrna M. Weissman. The second research paper I will review is Parents, children, and trauma: Parent role perceptions and behaviours related to the 9/11 tragedy and the authors/researchers of this paper are: Barbara A. Mowder, Michelle Guttman, Florence Rubinson and K. Mark Sossin. I will first review the first paper followed by the second paper then compare and contrast them. First Paper Review The title “Mental Health Consequences of Disaster-Related loss: Findings from Primary Care one year after the 9/11 Terrorist attack” best describes the research. The authors in this research look at the mental effects, interference of pain in the day to day activities, loss of work and functional impairment due to the loss of friends and relatives in the September 11th terrorist attack. The authors reviewed literatures that deal with effects of loss on individuals. From their reviews they found that even though most people regain from loss, there is a significant minority that may experience psychological disorders such as trauma that may affect their lives. The authors also note a gap in literature on medical researches that deal with disasters such as terrorist attacks. The researchers sampled 1,118 patients from Associates in Internal medicine in New York. The participants should have attained at least an age of 18 years and their age was not to exceed 70 years, they all had to understand either English or Spanish, should have been waiting to see a physician and had to be in good health to complete the survey. Out of all those that were sampled 992 accepted to participate in the survey and out of these 929 completed the survey. The data was collected through questionnaires. The participants gave out their socio-demographic information in the assessment form. The participants also indicated whether they lost a beloved one during the attack. The Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) checklist examined the psychological effects the disaster had on the participants. The patient health questionnaire and Primary Care evaluation of mental disorders form were used to get data on major depressive disorder (MDD), previous year alcohol abuse and panic disorder. Physical and mental health functioning was measured using 12 item short form survey (SF 12) while impairment was measured using 10-point self rated social life and home responsibilities subscales of the Sheehan disability. The data was analyzed using statistical methods. The results showed that about a quarter of the participants knew somebody who died during the attack. Patients/participants in the research who were affected by the loss were twice more likely to screen positive for one or more mental disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression compared to those who were not affected by the tragedy. However, the authors also established that the trauma of the event was not related to alcohol/ drug use disorder, panic disorder and suicidal ideation. In terms of pain, work loss and impairment, those that experienced loss in the disaster were more affected than those who did not experience a loss in the disaster. The authors also point out at the limitations of the study. The first limitation is that the research generalized the loss. Secondly, it did not take into consideration the complicated loss and lastly the study was carried out in a small urban low income population and it cannot be taken to represent the whole society. In their conclusion the authors recommended that mental health care related to disaster victims in this clinical society should concentrate on treatment of mood and anxiety disorders where there is evidence. Parents, Children and Trauma: Parent Role perceptions and behaviours related to 9/11 tragedy The title addresses the research content precisely. This study sought to establish whether the September 11th attacks affect the parenting behaviour of those who witnessed it. The authors argue that the parenting behaviour change due to the attack has not received much attention from previous researchers. The research addressed three main questions. The first question investigated whether the September 11th attack did alter the perception of the parents’ role towards children. The second question addressed the issue of whether the recurrence of specific parent behaviours and the related six roles (Discipline, bonding, education, sensitivity, responsibility and general welfare and protection) did change relative to the September 11th attack. The last question was whether the responses of participants related to demographic variables. The researchers carried out a literature review of studies dealing with parents’ behaviour towards their children. They also looked at the literature addressing post traumatic stress disorders among parents and children after the September 11th attack. The main theory the researchers looked at is the parent development theory (PDT) from which they came out with the parents’ characteristic roles. The authors also note the literature gap in terms of parents behaviour change in the event of disaster. The research was conducted by interviewing 99 administrators, faculty members, and staff from two universities in New York that are adjacent to the terrorism scene. The study sought to know the subjects participation in the evacuation activity, gender, ethnicity, age, and parental status. The analysis found that the participants from the university closer to the crime scene participated more in the evacuation activity than those from the university a bit further from the terror scene. It was also found that a high proportion of male participants participated in the rescue process than the female participants. The instruments used in this research were questionnaires; Parent Behaviour frequency questionnaire (PBFQ) and Parent Role Questionnaire (PRQ). In the PRQ, the parents indicated the importance they put on each parent characteristic role. In the PBFQ the parents indicated the frequency of natural parent behaviours. The questionnaires were then modified so that respondents indicated how they felt prior to disaster and soon after the disaster in terms of their parental roles. The results found that some parent role such as being responsive and bonding became more important to parents after disaster. This, the authors argue that it may be due to the feeling that their children faced a security threat. The other characteristic role such as discipline became less important. In this case, the authors speculate that it may be due to parents extending more love to their children. The researchers say that during a traumatic occasion parents place more attention on their children need for security, attention and sensitivity and the characteristic role of disciplining the children declines. They also claim that parents may also be reflecting on their own needs after a traumatic event and overlook the children’s discipline. The authors also found out that the characteristic role of education remained unchanged before and after the tragedy. This they point it to the fact that education is ongoing, pervasive, and not likely to be affected by the emotional changes in parents. However, the researchers noted that as time went by the parental behaviour went back to normal. The other variables examined in the study did not have much effect either on parent’s characteristic role or the frequency of parenting behaviour. However, age of children played a role in the study because those that had younger children put more importance in their characteristic role and the frequency of parenting behaviour than those that had older children. The researchers also note the limitations of the study; they say the study mainly relied on parental report. It did not take care of the shifts in behaviour and thinking. They recommend further research to study this. Similarities and Differences There are no two or more studies that ever have been completely similar. Studies by Mowder et al (2006) and Neria et al (2008) show similarities and also remarkable differences. Both studies are addressing the topic of trauma and terror. They are both based on the events of the September 11th attack. However, the issues addressed by the two studies vary. Mowder et al (2006) are looking at how traumatized parents did change their characteristic parental role and the frequency of parental behaviour towards their children. On the other hand, Neria et al (2008) are looking at the mental health effects that came with the loss of beloved ones in the September 11th terrorist attack. In this case, many mental disorders such as post traumatic stress disorder, major depressive disorder and general anxiety disorder are examined. Both the researches are done in the New York City. Mowder et al (2006) samples participants from two New York Universities while Neria et al (2008) uses a low income population who attend a certain medical facility in the New City. The literature review in both the studies was done on topics and previous researches related to the area of study. They all examined the studies that dealt with how terror caused trauma among populations. However, Neria et al (2008) further concentrates on studies dealing with the relationship between loss and mental disorders while Mowder et al (2006) concentrates on parental development theories. Both the two studies did note that there were few researches that dealt with their topic of study. In sampling for participants both studies did employ non-probability sampling method and questionnaires were a common tool in both studies. The probability of convenience was evidenced in Mowder et al (2006) by the use of participants from two New York Universities to be a representative of the whole population. In the case of Neria et al (2008), the researchers used participants from just one medical facility in New York. The validity of the sampling method employed in both studies to represent the whole population can be challenged. Despite this similarity, Neria et al adopted a more serious approach in their sampling techniques. They first sample a population of 1,118 participants from which 992 accepted to participate and 929 completed the study. This is a more realistic population as compared to the 99 participants that were used by Mowder et al (2006). In terms of eligibility criteria of participants, Mowder et al uses parents while Neria et al (2008) uses participants who are aged between 18 to 70 years, understand Spanish or English, and are in good health to complete the research. Both the two studies collect the socio demographic data of participants such as race, sex, ethnicity, marital status, and socio economic variables. However, Neria et al (2008) collect more data from participants than Mowder et al (2006). The researchers in the first case collected socio- demographic data, data on various stress disorders, disruption of daily activities due to trauma and physical impairment. In the second case the researchers mainly concentrated on three issues; the socio-demographic data, parents’ characteristic roles and the frequency of parental behaviours. The analyses of both data were by statistical methods. In the discussion of the results, Mowder et al (2006) did discuss their results better than Neria et al (2008). Neria et al (2008) at one point diverted from discussion and brought in the literature review which was not necessary in this case. However, Neria et al (2008) did come out with a more precise conclusion for their research than the researchers in Mowder et al (2006). Both the studies did give out the boundaries or limitations of their studies. Mowder et al (2006) researchers acknowledge the limitation that their research mainly relied on parental behaviour and did not take care of shifts in behaviour and thinking. On the other hand, researchers in Neria et al (2008) say that their sampled population maybe did not represent the whole population and that they did not categorize the types of loss. One interesting thing here is that despite the researchers in Mowder et al using a population of 99 participants sourced from two universities, one would expect this small population to be a major limitation but the authors did not acknowledge this as a limitation. Despite the limitations, both the studies did meet their intended objectives. Bibliography Mowder, B A et al 2006, ‘Parents, children, and trauma: Parent role perceptions and behaviours related to the 9/11 tragedy,’ Springer Journal: J Child Fam Stud, 15, (1), 733-743. Neria, Y et al 2008, ‘The Mental Health Consequences of Disaster-Related Loss: Findings from Primary Care One Year After the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks,’ Psychiatry Journal, 71, (4), 339-348. Read More