This study investigated changes over time in adolescents’and parents’memories for how they felt when they learned of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Adolescents recalled having felt less negative emotion than parents did both 3 months and 8 months after the attacks. Moreover, the intensity of negative emotion recalled decreased over time for adolescents but increased for parents. Parental anxiety and stress at 3 months predicted adolescent reactions at 8 months, and there was no evidence of bidirectional effects. Adolescents (but not parents) appraised the attacks as having less impact on themselves than on others. Appraising the attacks as having less impact predicted lower recalled negative emotion and fewer posttraumatic stress symptoms. The results suggest that adolescents’tendency to view themselves as less vulnerable than others, which can lead to risky behaviors, may also serve a protective function when adolescents confront distant traumatic events.
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