The stress caused by the terrorist bombings in London on 7 July 2005 was far more keenly felt by Muslim residents compared with other inhabitants, a psychological study reveals.
Sixty-one per cent of Muslim commuters surveyed suffered substantial stress in the days following the first terrorist attacks on the city鈥檚 transport system 鈥� almost double the proportion of stressed Londoners from other faiths.
鈥淥ne can speculate it could be fear of reprisals and being upset about the misusing of their religion [to justify] terrorism,鈥� says Neil Greenberg, at the Institute of Psychiatry at King鈥檚 College London, and one of the study team.
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Overall, Londoners coped reasonably well, the researchers found, although one-third of commuters still felt substantially stressed 12 days after the attacks.
But only 1% of people felt they needed professional help to cope with their emotions in the aftermath of the attacks, which killed 52 innocent commuters and injured over 700 others. Four bombs exploded in the morning rush hour 鈥� three on underground trains and one on a bus.
Previous exposure
Overall, the results of the study of over 1000 London commuters is 鈥渞eassuring鈥�, write the UK researchers. Previous experience of dealing with terrorist attacks by the IRA (Irish Republican Army) in the 1980s and early 1990s had psychologically toughened the city鈥檚 residents, they say.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not so out of the blue. This is something that Londoners have had to live with,鈥� says John Simpson, head of emergency preparedness at the UK Health Protection Agency鈥檚 branch in Salisbury.
鈥淧eople who said they had been exposed to terrorism before were less likely to be stressed,鈥� says Greenberg. He adds that, from a cognitive perspective, 鈥渘ot being in control of your life鈥� after a major trauma can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder. But 鈥渋f you鈥檝e been exposed to terrorism before you鈥檝e learnt ways to make yourself feel safe鈥�, he told New 杏吧原创.
Preparedness planning had also helped to minimise the psychological impact of the terror blasts on Londoners, the team found. Commuters who had read the UK Home Office鈥檚 advisory leaflet were less likely to be stressed and more likely to say they would get back to their normal travel routes by train or bus.
Jammed cellphones
But commuters were four times more likely to be distressed if they thought they could have been injured or killed that day, compared with those who did not believe that possibility.
Being unable to contact friends and loved-ones by cellphones on the day of the attacks was also associated with stress. Cellphone base stations were jammed as thousands of stranded commuters tried to make calls from the same areas amidst the chaos following the blasts.
鈥淭he mobile phone companies did a very good job at keeping the networks going at that time,鈥� Simpson told New 杏吧原创. But he adds: 鈥淲e need a mechanism whereby more capacity can be found.鈥�
He says this will need discussion at a government level as a 鈥渞easonably urgent issue鈥�. He says the UK Home Office is aware of the study鈥檚 findings and is working with the HPA on how best to prepare the population for terrorist attacks.
The survey was carried out by phone between the 18 to 20 July by market researchers MORI on behalf of the research team.
Journal reference: British Medical Journal (DOI: 10.1136/bmj.38583.728484.3A)