Responding to terror: the impact of September 11 on K-12 schools and schools' responses.

Eighty-nine school counselors and related helping professionals were surveyed regarding the impact on students and staff in K-12 schools regarding the September 11 terrorist attacks. High levels of student distress were found immediately following September 11, with substantially less distress evident 6 weeks later. Schools responded to the events by taking a variety of actions to meet student mental health needs but were much less likely to have acted to meet staff mental health needs.

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The terror attacks on the United States of September 11, 2001, and the anthrax terror campaign that followed had profound implications not only in the political world but also in the realm of professional school counseling. School counselors nationwide were thrust in the position of responding to a traumatic situation on a scale previously unimaginable within this country.

Basic crisis intervention theories and crisis response models indicate that what happens in the immediate aftermath of a traumatic event may well determine the long-term mental health of those impacted by the trauma (Brock, Sandoval, & Lewis, 2001; James & Gilliland, 2001; Saigh & Bremner, 1999). Of specific concern to the helping professions in the aftermath of the September 11 events was the unknown potential for children and adolescents to develop posttraumatic stress disorder or symptomatological characteristics of lesser stress-related disorders.

This article highlights the responses provided by school counselors and related helping professionals in schools in a Midwestern state concerning K-12 student and school staff reactions to the September 11 events. The responses were obtained from a research questionnaire administered at a workshop developed in the wake of the terror attacks on the topic of child, adolescent, and family responses to traumatic events.

POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER AND DEVELOPMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is characterized by a variety of long-term heightened anxiety responses to a traumatic event which overwhelm the individual's normal coping mechanisms (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 1994). The likelihood of the development of PTSD or other severe anxiety-related psychopathologies in response to a traumatic event depends on a combination of genetic, developmental, dispositional, and situational factors (Miars, 2000). One does not have to be directly involved in the traumatic event to risk possible development of PTSD symptomatologies. Vicarious exposure to a "serious injury or unnatural death of another person due to violent assault, accident, war, or disaster or unexpectedly witnessing a dead body or body parts " (APA, p. 424) may well set the stage for the development of PTSD. Observation of a traumatic event via electronic media such as television or webcasts meets the criteria for vicarious exposure, particularly if the event is unexpected or of a magnitude far exceeding the individual's normal scope of experiences. Acts of war and terrorism such as the attacks in New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C., viewed by millions via live television on September 11, 2001, are considered to be of a magnitude likely to induce PTSD among children and adolescents (Saigh, Fairbank, & Yasik, 1998).

Traumatization is a likelihood among children and adolescents whose coping mechanisms and cognitive and affective development have yet to prepare them to withstand the psychological pressures of traumatic victimization (Clark & Miller, 1998; Finkelhor & Kendall-Tackett, 1997; Swenson et al., 1996). Additionally, children and adolescents often do not have the cognitive and verbal abilities to express the affect attached to the witnessing or experiencing of traumatic events (Yule, Perrin, & Smith, 2001) and tend to perceive traumatic events idiosyncratically (Urman, Funk, & Elliott, 2001) or "child-specific" (Ahmad, Sofi, Sundelin-Wahlsten, & von Knorring, 2000, p. 240), thereby compounding psychological and emotional turmoil and setting the stage for such anxieties to be imbedded, or comorbid, with other psychiatric disorders such as depression, somatization disorder, chemical abuse, or panic disorder (Bolton, O'Ryan, Udwin, Boyle, & Yule, 2000; Putnam, 1996).

Within any general population, certain subpopulations may be more vulnerable to the development of PTSD and other stress-related disorders (Saigh, Yasik, Sack, & Koplewicz, 1999). Children and adolescents are typically thought to fall within such a vulnerable subpopulation (Clark & Miller, 1998). It must be stressed, however, that even among children and adolescents, as with adults, few actually develop full-blown PTSD (Saigh et al.). More likely is the development of stress-related symptoms, which can be debilitating for the subpopulation in the short-run. Stress-related reactions to traumatic events may include such reactive disorders as "depression, anxiety, conduct problems, dissociative reactions, and psychotic symptoms" (Clark & Miller, p. 5; APA, 1994).

METHOD

The impact of the September 11 events on K-12 students, staff, and schools' responses to the September 11 attacks were assessed with a research questionnaire completed by school counselors and other school-based helping professionals. The questionnaire solicited both qualitative and quantitative information regarding the impact of September 11 and schools' responses.

Participants

Study participants were 89 school-based professionals from multiple schools in a state in the Midwest. They completed a research questionnaire distributed at a workshop on the impact of traumatic events on children and families. All workshop attendees (N = 125) were invited to complete the research questionnaire. The 89 individuals who completed the questionnaire represented a participation rate of 71%. Seventy (78.7%) of the participants were female and 19 (21.3%) were male. The majority of the participants (n = 47; 52.8%) were school counselors. The professional positions of the other participants were social worker (n = 22; 24.7%), school psychologist (n = 16; 18.0%), and school counseling intern (n = 2; 2.2%). The professional position of two participants was unspecified. Twenty-four (27.0%) of the participants worked at the elementary level, 18 (20.2%) worked at the middle school level, and 24 (27.0%) worked at the high school level. Sixteen participants (18.0%) listed their school level as K-12; 7 (7.9%) listed their school level as "other." The majority of participants (n = 59; 66.3%) were from rural schools. Twenty-five (28.1%) were from suburban schools, and five (5.6%) were from urban schools.

Instrument

A questionnaire was developed by the researchers for the purposes of this study. Participants' perceptions of the responses of students to the September 11 events were obtained through a combination of Likert ratings and open-ended questions. Likert ratings (with choices of no observable distress, slight distress, moderate distress, high distress, and severe distress) were solicited regarding the general level of emotional distress experienced by students immediately following the events of September 11 and at the time of the workshop (6 weeks after September 11). The research questionnaire included questions asking respondents to estimate the percentage of students experiencing a high level of distress over the events of September 11 and the percentage of students who sought school-based support or counseling following the September 11 attacks.

The research questionnaire also solicited respondents' ratings of the general emotional distress among school staff and their own level of emotional distress following the September 11 attacks. The same Likert choices as listed above were used for these ratings. Two additional questions asked respondents to provide Likert ratings (with options of not at all, slightly, moderately, and greatly) regarding the extent to which their own distress interfered with their ability to respond to student needs and the extent they estimated that emotional distress interfered with staff members' ability to respond to student needs.

Several questions pertaining to system-wide school responses to the September 11 events were included in the research questionnaire. The methods schools used to inform students and staff of the developing events of September 11 were obtained using a checklist with six options (public address announcement, faculty meeting, network television, written memo, word of mouth, and other). In addition, respondents were asked to report the percentage of teachers in their school who showed live television coverage in their classrooms on September 11 and the estimated numbers of hours of live television coverage seen by students on September 11.

Several open-ended questions were included on the questionnaire. These questions solicited participants' observations in four areas: (a) the types of behavioral changes seen in students immediately after the September 11 events; (b) concerns expressed by students both immediately after and 6 weeks after September 11; (c) schools' responses to meet student and staff needs related to the September 11 events; and (d) actions taken by the participants to respond to the events of September 11. Finally, the questionnaire included questions about the type and adequacy of training participants had received for dealing with crises and traumatic events.

Procedures

The research questionnaire was distributed to attendees at a workshop on the topic of the impact of traumatic events on children and families. This workshop was specifically designed to provide school counselors with information helpful in addressing student needs following the September 11 attacks. Attendees who volunteered to participate in the research completed the questionnaire during the workshop and returned the questionnaire at its conclusion. All questionnaires were completed on the day of the workshop, October 25, 2001.

Data Analysis

Descriptive statistics were used to review the quantitative data (Likert ratings and percentage estimates). Analysis of variance procedures were used to test for significant differences between mean percentages. The responses to the open-ended questions were reviewed independently by the researchers, with each researcher developing tentative response categories. A final set of categories was jointly developed by the researchers, with the open-ended responses then being coded into those categories.

RESULTS

Student Response to September 11

Substantial student distress was reported by the majority of the respondents in the immediate aftermath of September 11, with 65% of the participants reporting that students appeared to be experiencing moderate or high levels of distress (see Table 1). The level of overall student distress 6 weeks after September 11 was judged by the majority of respondents to have diminished considerably. Six weeks after September 11 students were rated by 66% of the respondents as displaying either slight distress or no observable distress.

The average proportion of students reported to have been highly distressed by the events of September 11 was 4.5%. The median value reported was 1.5%. Eighty-five percent of the respondents indicated that 5% or fewer of students appeared to be highly distressed by the events of September 11. A one-way ANOVA was conducted to determine whether school grade level affected the reported percentage of students who appeared highly distressed (e.g., whether elementary school students were more likely to appear highly distressed than high school students). No statistically significant differences were found among the mean percentages reported at each school level, F(4, 69) = 1.39, p = .24.

The median reported value of students seeking some type of school-based support in the wake of September 11 was 5%; the modal percentage of students seeking help was 1%. Seventy-three percent of respondents reported that 5% or fewer of students in their buildings sought help for concerns about September 11.

Specific behavioral changes observed by participants among their student population following September 11 fell into six general categories (see Table 2). None of these general types of change were reported by a majority of respondents. The most frequently reported type of change--an increase in behaviors indicative of fear, anxiety, or worry--was noted by close to half (44.9%) of the respondents. The second most frequently seen behavior change was an increase in angry or aggressive behaviors (14.6%). The third most frequently reported change was an increase in behavioral or emotional states that specifically interfered with learning at school (10.1%). Three other general types of behavior change--an increase in patriotism or affiliation, an increase in sadness or depression, and a sense of disbelief about what had happened--were reported by less than 10% of the respondents. Fifteen of the respondents reported that they had noticed no significant behavior changes among students following the events of September 11. One final type of response to the question regarding students' behavior changes following September 11 (noted by 12.4% of the respondents) consisted of responses indicating that September 11 had a unique impact on particular groups of students. Groupings of students mentioned as being particularly impacted included students with family members or close friends in the military or reserves, students who already had mental health issues or were at risk, and students with Asperger's disorder.

Types of concerns expressed by students in the immediate days following September 11 and at the time of the survey 6 weeks later are summarized in Table 3. Nine general types of concerns were identified. Initially, the most frequently expressed concern (noted by 36.0% of the respondents) was a fear of war or of additional terrorist attacks. Fear of a local terrorist attack was another prominent concern (28.1%). A moderate number of respondents (31.5%) reported that students were initially concerned about either having to fight in a war themselves (via a military draft) or about friends or family members in the military or reserves having to go to war. A fear of flying (either the students themselves or friends of family members of the students) was a concern noted by 12.4% of the respondents. Existential concerns (e.g., "What does this mean for my future?" "Why do people hate us?") were reported by 11.2% of the respondents. Several other types of concerns mentioned by a small number of respondents are listed in Table 3.

An examination of the student concerns reported in Table 3 indicates that the majority of types of concerns diminished considerably in the 6 weeks following September 11. General student concerns about war or additional terrorist attacks were only noted by 13.5% of the respondents 6 weeks after September 11, down from 36.0% in the immediate aftermath. The percentage of respondents who noted no student concerns rose from 7.9% in the days after September 11 to 21.3% 6 weeks after. There were two main exceptions to the overall trend of diminishing student concerns. Concerns about a local terrorist attack, while slightly reduced, remained prominent. In addition, a substantial increase in concerns about anthrax attacks was noted at the 6 week mark, with this concern being reported by 21.3% of respondents at 6 weeks.

Personal Response and Staff Response to September 11

Seventy-four percent of the respondents (n = 66) rated their own level of emotional distress in the wake of September 11 as being moderate or high; two respondents rated their level of distress as being severe (Table 1). Participants' ratings of the estimated distress experienced by staff members were quite similar. Participants estimated that 84% of school staff members were at least moderately distressed by the events of September 11.

The majority of respondents (87%) indicated that their own level of distress interfered with their ability to meet student needs slightly or not at all. Participants also estimated that emotional distress minimally interfered with the ability of the majority of school staff to meet student needs (83% choosing slightly or not at all). However, in the case of both participants' ratings of themselves and of their ratings of school staff, emotional distress from September 11 was judged by a substantial minority to interfere with ability to meet student needs either moderately or greatly (13% for personal; 17% for staff). Two participants (2%) reported that their distress greatly interfered with their ability to meet students' needs.

Schools' Response to September 11

Participants were surveyed regarding the method used to notify students and staff members of the events of September 11. The majority of schools (67%) used more than one method to notify students. The most frequently used method to notify students was network television, which was used in 75% of the respondents' schools. Fifty-eight percent of respondents' schools notified students via word of mouth, while 28% used a public address announcement as a method of notification. Word of mouth was the most commonly used method to notify staff of the events of September 11 (72%). Network television was used as a method of staff notification in 68% of respondents' schools. Other methods of staff notification included a public address announcement (22%), written announcements (16%), and faculty meetings (14%).

In a response to a question regarding student access to network television, 63 respondents (74%) indicated that access to television was determined by individual classroom teachers. Nine respondents (11%) indicated that access was determined by administration. Thirteen respondents (15%) indicated that there was no access to television. The respondents indicated that a median of 55% of teachers showed live television during and immediately after the events of September 11. The responses to this question were significantly affected by the grade level of the school of the participants. The median percentage at elementary schools was significantly lower than the median percentage at middle schools or high schools, F(4, 65) = 11.41, p < 001. The median percentage given by participants working at elementary schools (n = 19) was 5%, compared to a median of 85% for participants working in middle schools (n = 14) and a median of 90% for participants working in high schools (n = 22). A median of 3 hours of live television was reported to have been viewed by students at school during and immediately after September 11.

Actions schools took to meet student mental health needs related to September 11 are displayed in Table 4. The most frequently reported action, which occurred in almost half (47.2%) of the schools, was providing students with greater access to school-based counseling services. Other types of actions reported by a substantial number of respondents were having classroom teachers provide support and information to students (reported by 22.5% of respondents) and providing trauma-related information to parents and teachers (reported by 20.2%). Eleven respondents (12.4% of the total number of respondents) indicated that their school took no action to meet student needs related to September 11.

A summary of the actions taken by schools to meet staff mental health needs related to September 11 is provided in Table 5. What is most notable about these data is the lack of response by schools to address the emotional distress teachers experienced during the events of September 11. Over half (52.8%) of the respondents reported that their school took no action to address staff needs.

Finally, participants reported that they had taken a number of types of actions to personally respond to the mental health needs of students and staff following the events of September 11. Approximately one third of the respondents indicated that they increased their visibility in the school (37.1%) or provided general support to others (33.7%). Other prominent types of actions included providing individual counseling to students or staff (reported by 20.2% of respondents) and providing trauma-related information to parents or teachers (reported by 16.9%). Six respondents (6.7%) indicated that they took no action to address student or staff mental health needs related to September 11.

Respondents' Training for Dealing with Traumatic Events

The most frequently endorsed type of preparation for dealing with traumatic events was professional reading (n = 40, 45%), followed by exposure to this area as part of a college course (n = 37, 42%); preparation via multiple workshops (n = 29, 33%); preparation via a single workshop (n = 22, 25%); and preparation via an entire college class on crisis intervention or trauma (n = 16, 18%). Eleven participants (12%) listed other types of preparation, and five (5%) indicated that they had received no professional preparation for dealing with traumatic events. Participants were also asked to rate the adequacy of their professional preparation for dealing with traumatic events. The majority of participants indicated that their professional preparation had been either adequate (n = 53, 60%) or very adequate (n = 4, 4%). Thirty-two participants (36%) indicated their preparation had been inadequate.

There was a weak relationship between the adequacy of respondents' crisis training and their ability to take some type of action to respond to the emotional distress of students or staff. Of respondents who rated their crisis training as being adequate or very adequate, 3.5% reported taking no action to address student or staff distress related to September 11. Of respondents who rated their crisis training as being inadequate, 12.5% took no action to respond to student or staff distress.

DISCUSSION

While students clearly had heightened responses during the immediate days following the September 11 attacks, students were viewed as having greatly reduced concerns and reactions 6 weeks later. In fact, while 65% of the participants rated their students' distress reactions to the September 11 events as moderate or high immediately following the attacks, this percentage was virtually inverted (66%) to slight or not at all 6 weeks later. This is consistent with previous research indicating that time has a tendency to reduce children's perceived stress reaction to a traumatic event (Bat-Zion & Levy-Shift, 1993; Shaw et al., 1995; Thabet & Vostanis, 2000). Likewise, the distance--both physically and psychologically--that an individual happens to be from a traumatic event lessens (but does not eliminate) the likelihood of a debilitating stress response (Jenson & Shaw, 1993). Geographical distance from the east coast of the United States may well have insulated the children in this study from a more palpable stress response such as that experienced by their peers along the East Coast, both in the immediate days following the attacks and in the weeks that followed. There was no evidence in the data provided by the participants in this study that significant numbers of students or school staff experienced the type of intense vicarious trauma from the September 11 attacks that would result in the development of full-blown PTSD when compared to the literature on the topic.

In addition to the diminished intensity of stress reactions to the September 11 events, the types of behaviors and concerns displayed by students also shifted over time. Initially the most frequently seen behavior change among students was increased fear and worry. However, the immediate fear of what else might happen and the trauma of seeing death and destruction of September 11 had clearly receded 6 weeks later. While the most prominent concern initially voiced by students was a global fear of general terrorist attacks or war, concerns 6 weeks later tended to shift to more personally relevant fears, such as anthrax attacks or local terrorist attacks.

There appeared to be two types of groups of students who were particularly strongly impacted by September 11: those who had a personal connection to the events, such as having a family member in the military or having a parent whose job involved frequent flying, and those who had pre-existing mental health issues (including students with depressive disorders, Asperger's disorder, and students generally described by participants as being at-risk). The disparate impact on students with pre-existing mental health issues is consistent with previous research that has found that children most likely to be afflicted by high levels of anxiety during a traumatic experience are those children who already had high pretrauma anxiety (Bat-Zion & Levy-Shiff, 1993). Conversely, healthy adaptation to stressful experiences seems to be facilitated by a history of successfully coping with stress and challenges (Garbarino, 1993), something that at-risk students often do not have (McWhirter, McWhirter, McWhirter, & McWhirter, 1998).

The participants in this study indicated that few students sought school-based assistance immediately following the terror attacks. It is interesting to note the similarity between the median percentage of students viewed by participants as being highly distressed by the events of September 11 (4.5%) and the percentage of students who were reported to have sought help from a school counselor or related school helping professional following September 11 (5%), although it is unknown whether this reflects the same group of students.

Another implication of this study is that it is imperative that school personnel remember the power of vicarious learning and the potential for vicarious victimization. The average K-12 student in this sample was exposed in school to 3 hours of live television coverage of the attacks of September 11. During this period, there was great uncertainty as to the exact nature of the attacks, what kind of attack might happen next, or where such as event would occur. The possibility existed that during live coverage of the developing news event an on-camera calamity of PTSD-inducing potential could have occurred, vicariously exposing thousands of students. Furthermore, teachers watching live television also ran the risk of developing stress reactions that could have impacted their ability to function effectively as a classroom leader. In fact, other related research indicates that extensive television viewing on September 11 was associated with elevated stress reactions among adults (Schlenger et al., 2002, Schuster et al., 2001)

The results of this study indicate that the participants and the staff members they worked with experienced considerable distress as the events of September 11 unfolded. The majority of participants (74%) rated their level of distress as being moderate or high, while estimating that most other staff members (84%) experienced a similar elevated level of distress. While the respondents did report experiencing personal distress and observing distress among their school colleagues, they did not perceive that the distress significantly interfered with their provision of services to students.

Finally, these data indicate that the large majority of schools responded to the events of September 11 by performing some type of appropriate action intended to meet the mental health needs of students impacted by the on-going events. The most typical action, noted by almost haft of the survey respondents, was providing students with increased access to school-based counseling services. It must be noted with concern, however, that 12% of the respondents reported that their schools took no action to assist students in dealing with the events of September 11.

While most schools responded to September 11 with efforts to attend to the mental health needs of students, the majority of schools did nothing to respond to the emotional distress experienced by staff members. The mental health needs of staff members were typically ignored in this sample.

Limitations

Two limitations are associated with this study. First, participants in the study were all from communities in the Midwest. The extent to which the results of this study can be generalized to other areas of the United States is not known, although it would be expected that the experience of school counselors working in schools in close proximity to the September 11 terror attacks would be considerably different from the experience of those in this study. This merits further discussion, because the differential impact of the events of September 11 on children and schools in different parts of the country is a critical issue. While these results certainly should not be generalized to schools in close geographical proximity to the September 11 attacks or to schools where significant numbers of students or staff lost close family members in the attacks, the fact is that large numbers of schools in this country are in neither of these categories. It is likely that the majority of schools, students, and school staff in this country experienced the events of September 11 vicariously from a distance. The results of this study most appropriately apply to those schools and individuals.

A second limitation of this research is that students' and other staff members' emotional and psychological reactions to September 11 were not directly assessed but rather were indirectly measured via the reports of the workshop attendees. This is a significant concern considering that adults often tend to underestimate the degree of internal distress experienced by children (Curie & Williams, 1996; Epkins, 1993; Sawyer, Baghurst, & Mathias, 1992). However, concern about adults' underestimation of students' distress may be partially mitigated by the inclusion of respondents' descriptions of specific student behavior changes related to September 11.

Implications for School Counselors

A notable disparity in these data was the difference between the substantial level of student distress seen by the respondents and the very low numbers of students who sought school-based support. Apparently, many students could have benefited from support from school counselors in the aftermath of September 11, but did not actively seek out that support. The clear implication is that following nationally traumatic events like September 11, school counselors need to actively seek opportunities to assist students and staff. Having an open door policy may not be enough; activities such as proactively visiting classrooms, roaming halls looking for affected students, and organizing supportive activities may be more effective.

These results also clearly suggest that the mental health needs of teachers and other adult school personnel were underserved in the aftermath of September 11. One school counselor, when asked what the school did to address the post-September 11 emotional needs of staff, wrote: "Little--and this was the biggest issue. We adults were more traumatized than the kids in my elementary schools." School counselors can serve the emotional and psychological needs of adults in the school community along with the needs of students when planning crisis intervention response strategies. While it is appropriate for school counselors to place the emotional needs of children in the forefront during a crisis, it is also important to recognize that the long-term adjustment of children exposed to severe trauma depends to a great degree on the ability of the adults in their lives to be psychologically available to them as they deal with the trauma (Garbarino, 1993).

Another implication for school counselors relates to the finding that some groupings of students appeared uniquely affected by the events of September 11. This suggests that following a traumatic experience school counselors should make special efforts to reach out to those students who are already dealing with unusual stressors or who have existing mental health issues--likely the very children with whom school counselors are well-acquainted.

Finally, the results of this study revealed a need for further training regarding crisis intervention and school responses to trauma. Over one third (36%) of the respondents in this study did not feel that their training was sufficient to respond to traumatic events. Specifically, substantial numbers of school psychologists (44%), school counselors (36%), and school social workers (32%) rated their training as inadequate in preparing them to deal effectively with crises and traumas. Such responses seem to provide a clear indication that crisis intervention training and coursework is relevant for graduates of all human service fields.

The events of September 11 are etched in the memories of the children, adolescents, and adults worldwide. Learning what we can about the impact of these terrible events on children and schools will better prepare school counselors to respond effectively to both this tragedy and to the inevitable traumas that are yet to occur.

Table 1. Estimated Overall Distress from the Events of September 11,
by Number of Participants Endorsing Each Category

                                 Student
                    Student      Distress:
                    Distress:    6 week       Personal     Staff
                    Immediate    Follow-up    Distress     Distress
Category            (n = 87)     (n = 87)     (n = 89)     (n = 89)

No distress          2 (2.3%)    11 (12.6%)    1 (1.1%)     0 (0%)
Slight distress     27 (31.0%)   48 (55.2%)   20 (22.5%)   14 (15.7%)
Moderate distress   39 (44.8%)   28 (32.2%)   39 (43.8%)   39 (43.8%)
High distress       19 (21.8%)    0 (0%)      27 (30.3%)   36 (40.4%)
Severe distress      0 (0%)       0 (0%)       2 (2.2%)     0 (0%)

Table 2. Types of Behavioral Changes Observed in Students
Immediately Following September 11

                                     Number of Respondents
Type of Change                       Reporting the Change

Increased tear/anxiety/worry              40 (44.9%)
Increased anger/aggression                13 (14.6%)
Increased school problems                  9 (10.1%)
Increased patriotism/affiliation           8 (9.0%)
Increased sadness/depression               7 (7.9%)
Sense of disbelief                         6 (6.7%)
No changes seen                           15 (16.9%)
No response                               10 (11.2%)

Table 3: Types of Concerns Expressed by Students Immediately Following
September 11 and Six Weeks After September 11, by Number of Respondents
Reporting Each Concern

                               Immediately After   Six Weeks After
Type of Concern                 September 11th     September 11th

Additional attacks/war            32 (36.0%)         12 (13.5%)
Local attack                      25 (28.1%)         21 (23.6%)
Self or others being drafted      15 (16.9%)          4 (4.5%)
Self or others going to war       13 (14.6%)          8 (9.0%)
Fear of flying                    11 (12.4%)          8 (9.0%)
  (self or close others)
Existential concerns              10 (11.2%)          9 (10.1%)
Anthrax attack                     3 (3.4%)          19 (21.3%)
U.S. over-reaction                 2 (2.2%)           4 (4.5%)
Racist behavior                   --                  1 (1.1%)
No concerns reported               7 (7.9%)          19 (21.3%)
No response                        8 (9.0%)          15 (16.9%)

Table 4: Actions Taken by Schools to Respond to Students' Emotional
Distress Related to September 11

                                                  Number of Respondents
                                                  Reporting the Action
                                                      Occurred at
Type of Action                                        Their School

Greater access to counselors                           42 (47.2%)
Support/information provided by teachers               20 (22.5%)
Trauma-related information given to teachers           18 (20.2%)
  and/or parents
Outreach activities                                    10 (11.29)
Provide support group                                   8 (9.0%)
Counselors or administrators visit classrooms           6 (6.7%)
Organize patriotic or help-providing activities         6 (6.7%)
Restrict students' media access                         4 (4.5%)
No action taken                                        11 (12.4%)
No response                                             3 (3.4%)

Table 5: Actions Taken by Schools to Respond to Staff Members'
Emotional Distress Related to September 11

                                                 Number of Respondents
                                                 Reporting the Action
                                                      Occurred at
Type of Action                                       Their School

Support/information provided at a faculty              1 (14.6%)
  meeting
Support/debriefing meetings made available             9 (10.1%)
  to staff
School-based support services made available           9 (10.1%)
  to staff
Classes covered for teachers needing a break           4 (4.5%)
Staff reminded/encouraged to take advantage            3 (3.4%)
  of employee assistance program
No action taken                                       47 (52.8%)
No response                                            9 (10.1%)

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Richard W. Auger, Ph.D., is an assistant professor.

John W. Seymour, Ph.D., is an assistant professor.

Walter B. Roberts, Jr., Ed.D., is a professor of Counselor Education. All are with the Department of Counseling and Student Personnel, Minnesota State University, Mankato. E-mail: [e-mail]