Stress symptoms among African-American college students after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks

The current study examined stress reactions to the events of September 11, 2001 among African-American college students not directly exposed to the attacks. Within 3 days of September 11, 219 undergraduates (78.3% women) completed self-report measures assessing stress symptoms and other reactions to the attacks. The results indicated that many students experienced a variety of stress symptoms and distressing thoughts and feelings in response to the events of September 11, including academic problems, concerns about family and friends in the military, and fear about war. Most students were highly distressed by specific attack-related news reports and images. Anger toward persons of Middle Eastern descent was not frequently reported. Later college year and having parents not currently together were predictors of overall stress symptom severity as assessed by the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist. Later college year also predicted academic problems after September 11. The findings are discussed in terms of intervention implications and suggested directions for future research.