Posttraumatic and Acute Stress Responses in Hostages Held by Suicide Terrorists in the Takeover of a Moscow Theater.

Abstract

Summary The hostages interviewed in this project exhibited a variety of mild to severe acute and posttraumatic responses to the terrorist event. The fact that the hostage takers were suicidal greatly increased the hostages’ feelings of helplessness and terror. Also, the death from the gas of so many hostages and the apparent disregard of the Russian government for these individuals was a difficult aspect of the experience with which the hostages grappled. The fact that many of the hostages developed Stockholm effects also made the deaths of the terrorists traumatic, which may have been a surprise to many. Despite their symptoms it seemed likely that given time and support the hostages were making good use of naturally available coping resources and would make full recoveries. It is interesting from a policy making perspective that the hostages were not offered an organized psychological response following their ordeal and that, after going over the hurdle of deciding whether or not to trust our request for a research interview with the offer of a free consultation following it, all the hostages welcomed speaking to a sympathetic psychological team and took advantage of the opportunity to consult about issues that were still bothersome to them. Most of their concerns were standard acute and posttraumatic stress issues that were easily addressed in a straightforward manner. The least difficult to help persons were those who appeared to have been relatively healthy individuals pre-trauma. Those with previous unresolved losses or traumatization presented more complicated cases and likely would have benefited from psychotherapy. Given that suicidal terrorism appears to be a rising threat (witness the recent spate of suicide attacks in Israel, Iraq, Turkey, Russia and so on), it becomes a new type of trauma that psychologists and policy makers must prepare for. We recommend expecting individuals in hostage-taking situations to do well with their ordeal, but to have some degree of acute and posttraumatic responses. These should be addressed in a non-intrusive and supportive manner for those who continue to struggle in the months following their experience. Of course, further study of this type of phenomenon is also recommended.