PSY-Psychology of Terrorism class

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Psychological Impact of Terrorism

Psychological Impact of Terrorism

• Victims are the media through which the terrorist communicates his demands to a society or its government

• The intended effect is primarily psychological

• The violence of the terrorist is intended to created mass victims from attacks against one or a few

• Terrorism is directed primarily against the victim, but secondarily, and importantly, against the target society

Psychological Impact of Terrorism

• The purpose of terrorism is “to create huge numbers of secondary psychological casualties by means of large-scale physical attacks.

• The effect of terrorism, to instill fear, has a multiplier effect on civilian populations – For every death due to Scud missile attacks on Israel in 1991 there

were 272 hospital admissions for “psychological emergencies.” Bongar2

– 1995 Sarin gas attacks in Tokyo subway resulted in 12 deaths and more than 4,000 hospital visits by nonaffected individuals exhibiting “psychogenic symptoms of chemical injury.” World Health Organization, World Health Report 2001 -- Mental health: New understanding, new hope.

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Psychological Impact of Terrorism

• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) – A psychological reaction to a highly stressful event,

characterized by depression, anxiety, flashbacks, recurrent nightmares and avoidance of reminders of the event

• PTSD spreads increased anxiety, depression – Tends to be the most common reaction of those far from

the terrorist act

– Tends to be higher among women

– Multiplies the effect of terrorism throughout the target society

• Terrorism’s basic effect is to elicit feelings of vulnerability

Stress Disorders

• Stressor:

– External event or situation that places a physical or psychological demand on a person

– Range from chronic irritation to acute an traumatic events

• Stress:

– Internal psychological or physiological response to a stressor

Stress Disorders (cont’d.)

Figure 6-2 Five Leading Causes of Stress in America Source: American Psychological Association (2010)

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Acute and Posttraumatic Stress Disorders

• Both begin with a normative reaction (“fight or flight”) that occurs when an individual faces some type of danger

• Fear response remains even though original basis for fear is no longer present

Acute and Posttraumatic Stress Disorders (cont’d.)

• Acute stress disorder (ASD):

– Anxiety and dissociative symptoms that occur within one month after exposure to a traumatic stressor

• Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD):

– Anxiety, dissociative, and other symptoms that last for more than one month and that occur as a result of exposure to extreme trauma

Diagnosis of ASD and PTSD

• DSM-V criteria:

– Direct or indirect exposure to stressor

– Intrusive symptoms and intense physiological reactivity associated with traumatic event

– Persistent evasion of stimuli related to trauma

– Alterations in cognitions and mood associated with event and inability to experience positive emotions

– Heightened autonomic arousal or reactivity

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Diagnosis of ASD and PTSD (cont’d.)

• Differ in duration:

– ASD lasts three days to one month

– PTSD lasts longer than a month

• An individual is likely to receive initial diagnosis of ASD and then PTSD if symptoms persist longer than a month

Etiology of ASD and PTSD

Figure 6-1 Multipath Model for PTSD The dimensions interact with one another and combine in different ways to result in PTSD.

Etiology of ASD and PTSD (cont’d.)

• Factors associated with increased risk:

– Higher magnitude stressors

– More severe physical injuries

– Multiple stressors

– Rape and sexual assault

– Individual characteristics

– Perceptions of event

– Specific vulnerabilities

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Etiology of ASD and PTSD (cont’d.)

• Biological dimension: – Sensitized autonomic system:

• Nervous system has become highly reactive to fear and stress

– PTSD is not a biologically normative stress response, but one in which neural and biological systems demonstrate increased reactivity resulting in hypersensitivity

– Diminished ability to inhibit or extinguish conditioned fear

Etiology of ASD and PTSD (cont’d.)

• Biological dimension:

– Role of the amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex

– Epinephrine and cortisol

– One third of risk for PTSD due to genetics

– Individuals with specific biological vulnerabilities predisposed to developing PTSD.

Etiology of ASD and PTSD (cont’d.)

• Psychological dimension:

– Specific psychological vulnerabilities have been identified, but precise role varies

– Dysfunctional cognitions regarding oneself or environment

– Positive cognitive styles reduce risk of PTSD

– Preexisting conditions such as trait anxiety and depression found to be risk factors

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Etiology of ASD and PTSD (cont’d.)

• Social dimension:

– Poor or inadequate support during childhood and adulthood

– Social isolation

– Lack of social support after trauma may be most important factor

– Above average cognitive skills as protective factors

Etiology of ASD and PTSD (cont’d.)

• Sociocultural dimension:

– Recent immigrants and refugees from countries where there was civil conflict show elevated rates of stress disorders

– Ethnic differences

– Women are twice as likely as men to suffer stress disorder

Treatment of ASD and PTSD

• Biological:

– SSRI antidepressants

• Psychological:

– Psychotherapy focus on extinguishing fear or to correct dysfunctional cognitions

– Exposure to cues associated with trauma

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Psychological Impact of Terrorism

• Ethnic background, gender, and age influence the psychological reactions to terrorism

Psychological Impact of Terrorism • Anthrax attacks -- 2001

– Extended the fear of terrorism to each individual

– Opened up a “limitless horizon” of fear -- the maximum objective of terrorism

• Some argue that these attacks were not the work of terrorists but were “an inside job.” (Philipp Sarasin, Anthrax: Bioterror as Fact and Fantasy, 2006)

• Provided a useful metaphor for terrorism that helped justify aggressive “vaccination” policies of intervention in Afghanistan and Iraq. – The terrorist is understood as an infectious disease

– The threat of bioterror globalizes the struggle, justifies total eradication

– Extends violence to the source of the infection, “alien” peoples and their beliefs

– Too apt not to have been an inside job

Psychological Impact of Terrorism

• Terror is an attempt to interrupt normal patterns of judgment, especially political judgment (e.g., Madrid bombings)

• The victim is attempting to resist the effects of fear -- how can this be done? – Modeling those who have mastered their own fears

– Turning to sources of personal strength (religion, family, close relationships, etc.)

– Maturity

– Habituation

– Self-knowledge, self-awareness