ACTUALIDAD - 12-04-2014

Psychological follow-up and treatments of terrorism victims

Nowadays, terrorism has become one of the most severe and alarming problems worldwide and, unfortunately, it has also happens in Spain. After a terrorist attack, an important percentage of the victims will develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other anxiety disorders and depressive disorders. Many victims will need psychological treatment at the short, medium, and long term for those disorders.

In response, in the past 15-20 years, Psychology has developed systematic research programs about the psychopathological repercussions of terrorist attacks and their treatment. However, it is still difficult to estimate what approximate percentages of victims will suffer from those disroders and how these figures will vary as a function of the time passed since terrorists attacks happened or as a function of the relationship of the victim with the terrorist attacks. In this sense, only a few studies have been published about the psychopathological consequences of terrorism attacks at long term or in other populations different from that injuried in the terrorist attacks (e. g., relatives of people died or injured in the attacks). On the other hand, until nearly about 7–8 years ago, there were practically no published empirical studies on the specific psychological treatment of mental disorders derived from terrorist acts. Now, the results of two experimental studies with control group support the efficacy of trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy for the victims of terrorist attacks, but it is not clear that the therapeutic benefits bound in those efficacy studies are replicable in usual clinical intervention settings. In this context, this project present two studies with two aims.

First, the project is aimed at estimating the long-term prevalence of PTSD and anxiety and depressive disorders, and at examining the relationship of that prevalence with the time passed since terrorist attacks happened, the degree of exposition to the terrorist attacks and the existence of physical consequences. Second, the project is aimed at testing, in victims of terrorist attacks, the effectiveness or clinical utility of cognitive-behavioral therapy for PTSD and anxiety and depressive disorders, and at comparing effectiveness results with those obtained in efficacy studies.