Have There Been Lasting Effects Associated With the September 11, 2001, Terrorist Attacks Among Inner-City Parents and Children?

Should mental health practitioners expect lasting posttraumatic stress symptoms in the general population after future terrorist attacks or other disasters? Serendipitous random assignment of families allowed assessment of the effects of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on parent and child trauma-related symptoms and parenting. Surprisingly, there were no differences between pre- and post-September 11 groups on measures of parent and child anxiety, depression, and feelings of safety. However, levels of parental monitoring and beliefs about family were higher in the group assessed after September 11, 2001. Implications for practitioners' responses to terrorism and disaster are discussed.