A new survey finds that people who watch 12 hours or more per day of television are 3.6 times more likely to experience post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the September 11 terrorist attacks than those who watch less than four hours per day.

The survey also found that those with family or other loved ones in the military are more than twice as likely as the general population to suffer PTSD stemming from the attacks, and people who line in New York City are nearly twice as likely to support PTSD than people who live elsewhere. The survey found no significant difference in PTSD among people who live in the Washington, DC, area.

The survey also found no difference in PTSD among people who know victims of the attacks, compared with those who do not know victims.

The is the first step in a longitudinal survey intended to track specific trauma exposures and mental health outcomes in order to help mental health service providers respond to the needs of people in their communities. In addition to updating the outcomes measures, future rounds of the survey will include assessments of service utilization and additional exposures.

The survey used a PTSD checklist and a brief symptom inventory to provide prevalence estimates.

The survey, with 2,273 respondents, was presented December 7 at the annual meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies.

Research Triangle Institute (RTI), in collaboration with researchers at Duke University and Knowledge Networks, Inc., conducted the survey using a new Internet panel that provides statistically valid results, representative of the U.S. population.
 

---Research Triangle Institute

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