Character strengths before and after September 11

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Trauma Studies

Background:

• The September 11 terrorist attacks represented a significant national trauma.
• Understanding psychological responses to large-scale traumatic events is crucial for public mental health.
• Assessing changes in positive psychological traits offers insight into societal resilience.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether Americans exhibited changes in character strengths following the September 11 terrorist attacks.
• To identify specific positive traits that may have been impacted by the event.
• To determine the duration of any observed changes in character strengths.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a self-report questionnaire measuring the Values in Action Classification of Strengths.
• Collected data from 4,817 online survey respondents.
• Compared pre-September 11 survey responses with those completed in the two months following the attacks and ten months later.

Main Results:

• Seven character strengths significantly increased immediately after September 11: gratitude, hope, kindness, leadership, love, spirituality, and teamwork.
• These elevated levels of character strengths were sustained ten months post-attack, albeit with a slight decrease from the initial post-attack period.
• The findings suggest a positive psychological shift in response to the national trauma.

Conclusions:

• The September 11 terrorist attacks were associated with an increase in specific positive character strengths among Americans.
• These psychological enhancements demonstrated a degree of temporal stability, persisting for at least ten months.
• The study provides evidence for enhanced psychological resilience in the face of widespread adversity.