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Short-Term Psychological Support for Civilians Exposed to the January 2015 Terrorist Attacks in France

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 December 2022

Cécile Vuillermoz Open the ORCID record for Cécile Vuillermoz [Opens in a new window] ,
Nathalie Prieto ,
Philippe Pirard ,
Thierry Baubet ,
Lise Eilin Stene  and
Stéphanie Vandentorren
Cécile Vuillermoz*
Affiliation:
Sorbonne Université, INSERM, Institut Pierre Louis d’Epidémiologie et de Santé Publique (IPLESP), Department of Social Epidemiology, F75012 Paris, France Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies (NKVTS), Oslo, Norway
Nathalie Prieto
Affiliation:
Cellule d’Urgence Médico-Psychologique 69, Hospices Civils de Lyon, F69437 Lyon Cedex, France
Philippe Pirard
Affiliation:
Santé Publique France, Direction des Maladies non Transmissibles et Traumatismes, F94415 Saint-Maurice, France
Thierry Baubet
Affiliation:
AP-HP, Hôpital Avicenne, F93000 Bobigny, France Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, F93430 Villetaneuse, France Centre National de Ressources et de Résilience (CN2R), F59000 Lille, France
Lise Eilin Stene
Affiliation:
Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies (NKVTS), Oslo, Norway
Stéphanie Vandentorren
Affiliation:
Santé Publique France, Direction Scientifique et Internationale, F94415 Saint-Maurice, France University of Bordeaux, INSERM, Bordeaux Population Health Research Center, F-33000 Bordeaux, France
*
Correspondence: Cécile Vuillermoz 27 rue Chaligny, 75012 Paris, France E-mail: cecile.vuillermoz@inserm.fr
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Abstract

Introduction:

Following a terrorist attack, responses to a psychosocial disaster range from low-intensity initiatives to high-intensity treatment. Some studies described post-disaster psychosocial services and planning across Europe. However, little is known about the psychosocial support (PS) actually delivered after terrorist attacks.

Study Objective:

This study assesses prevalence and the factors associated with not receiving short-term PS among terror-exposed people with probable mental health disorders following the January 2015 terrorist attacks in France.

Methods:

This study used data from the first wave of a longitudinal survey conducted six months after the attacks. Prevalence and factors associated with not receiving PS were described in the immediate period (48 hours), the early post-immediate period (48 hours-one week), and the medium-term (over one week) using a robust Poisson regression for each of the three periods.

Results:

Nearly one-half of the participants (N = 189) did not receive PS in any period (46.6% in the immediate period, 45.5% in the early post-immediate period, and 54.5% in the medium-term). In each period, not receiving PS was associated with not being very close to the attack sites. Not receiving PS in the immediate period was also associated with being a direct witness (DW) rather than being directly threatened (DT) and not having support in daily life; in the early post-immediate period, not receiving PS was associated with not having a peri-traumatic dissociation experience and being followed for a psychological problem before the attacks; and in the medium-term period, it was associated with perceived social isolation.

Conclusion:

The characteristics of the terror exposure and social support seemed to influence presence or absence of PS after the terrorist attack and highlight the need for strategies to reach out to people regardless of the type of exposure.

Keywords

mental health disorderspsychosocial supportterror-exposed peopleterrorist attack
Type
Original Research
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 37 , Issue 6 , December 2022 , pp. 755 - 764
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine

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