Distress of Routine Activities and Perceived Safety Associated with Post-Traumatic Stress, XXXX , and @entity285 Use: 2002 Washington, DC, Sniper Attacks.

@entity1 @entity285 @entity308 @entity66
OBJECTIVE: For over 3 weeks in October 2002, a series of sniper attacks in the Washington, DC, area left 10 @entity1 dead and 3 wounded. This study examined the relationship of distress associated with routine activities and perceived safety to psychological and behavioral responses. METHODS: @entity1 were 1238 residents of the Washington, DC, metropolitan area (aged 18 to 90 years, mean=41.7 years) who completed an Internet survey including the Impact of Event Scale-Revised, @entity1 Health Questionnaire-9, and items pertaining to distress related to routine activities, perceived safety, and @entity285 use. Data were collected at one time point approximately 3 weeks after the first sniper shooting and before apprehension of the suspects. Relationships of distress and perceived safety to post-traumatic stress, @entity308 , and increased @entity285 use were examined by using linear and logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: Approximately 8% of the @entity1 met the symptom criteria for probable post-traumatic @entity66 , 22% reported mild to severe @entity308 , and 4% reported increased @entity285 use during the attacks. Distress related to routine activities and perceived safety were associated with increased post-traumatic stress and @entity308 and @entity285 use. CONCLUSION: Distress and perceived safety are associated with specific routine activities and both contribute to psychological and behavioral responses during a terrorist attack. These findings have implications for targeted information dissemination and risk communication by community leaders. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2015;0:1-7).
