Chapter 4 The September 11th Attacks and Depressive Symptomatology Among Older Adults with Vision Loss in New York City

Abstract

Responding to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Science Research developed a measure to assess bias in studies of mental health resulting from these events. Studies that have reported a negative mental health impact from September 11th have focused on adults of all ages and have had limited preattack comparison data. However, at the time, we were studying depression among older adult vision rehabilitation applicants in the New York City metro area. Thus, we were in an unique position to examine any potential biasing effects of September 11th given our proximity to one of the attack sites. CES-D scores and life satisfaction were compared for those providing data 2 months prior (n = 111) or 2 months after September 11th (n = 58). Significant biasing effects of September 11th did not emerge, nor were there any interaction effects of the event with age, gender or education. Failure to find bias from September 11th in our Sample reflects, in part, the resiliency of older adults who have coped with other stressful events in their lifetimes.

Key Words:

• Older adults
• September 11th
• depression
• vision impairment
• resilience