Objective: The post-9/11 bereavement of over 40 widows and 110 children of firefighters killed in the WTC attacks is being studied to identify immediate and long-term differences from 88 bereaved families and 157 children in which a parent died of cancer.
Methods: While using primarily qualitative methods, standardized mental health measures are also used to provide descriptive information of each family member. Over a period of 4-14 months after the event, families were engaged to participate in audiotaped psychoeducational interventions in their homes and to provide information about their ongoing recovery process.
Results: Where as the first year was one of numbness, shock, pain, chaos, and difficulty accepting the reality of the death, by the second year most children were engaged in returning to previous levels of functioning. However mothers continued to struggle with grief and realization of the enduring impact of the loss. Most children described a sense of lost time, sliding grades, and disruptions in relations with peers, family, and in activities. Grief responses of children were not reflected on standardized measures, while mothers documented more symptomatology. Ongoing traumatic reminders included highly dramatized memorials, re-traumatizing at the first anniversary and a painful reminder at the second.
Conclusions: The severe and prolonged responses of 9/11 families in the first year highlight the value of preparing children for loss when death can be anticipated, as in cases of illness. With sudden loss, children require earlier focus on reconstituting their lives while parents take longer to reconcile to the loss. Suggested is a need for multiple services over a longer period of time. 2002 Christ, G. et.al., Adolescent Grief: "It never really hit me... until it actually happened.," JAMA 288(10):1269-1279.