Post-Traumatic Growth and Quality of Life Among World Trade Center Health Registry Enrollees 16 Years After 9/11
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15487585 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Howard Alper (0000-0003-4402-0145, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, corresponding author), Howard E Alper (New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene), Leen Feliciano (City University of New York), Lucie Millien (New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene), Cristina Pollari (New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene), Sean Locke (0000-0002-3859-3257, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 23 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 393-393 |
| Publication date | 2026-03-20 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1661-7827 • E-ISSN: 1660-4601 |
| Publisher | Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (PUBLISHER • CH) |
| DOI | 10.3390/ijerph23030393 |
| PMID | 41899770 |
| OpenAlex | W7138909544 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 57 |
A recent study of World Trade Center Health Registry enrollees found that about one- third experienced post-traumatic growth (PTG) in the wake of the 9/11 attacks and that PTG was associated with social support and social integration. However, the implications of PTG for the enrollees' overall quality of life are unknown. The present study investigated the prevalence of PTG and its association with the SF-12 physical and mental function quality of life scales in a sample of 2786 enrollees from the Registry's Health and Quality of Life Study (HQoL) who completed the first four surveys, were older than 18 on 9/11, reported English as their primary spoken language, and provided consistent self-report of 9/11 physical injury at the Registry's baseline and HQoL surveys. We employed multivariable linear regression to evaluate the association between PTG and the SF-12 physical and mental scales, controlling for sex, age, race, education, income, employment, social support, threatening events, post-9/11 mental health, number of post-9/11 physical health conditions, and drug/alcohol misuse. We found that 31% of the sample enrollees experienced PTG and that PTG exhibited a clinically and statistically significant association with the SF-12 mental scale but not the physical scale (physical: β = -0.01 (-0.61, 0.65), mental: β = 3.92 (2.89, 4.95)). Those who were physically injured during 9/11 showed larger improvements in mental function than those who were not. PTG has implications for the overall mental quality of life that should be further investigated
Association (psychology · Health related quality of life · Mental health · Quality of life (healthcare · Sample (material · Scale (ratio · Social support · Suicide prevention · World trade center · Occupational Health and Performance · Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research · Trauma and Emergency Care Studies
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Demographic Variation in SF-12 Scores
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |