Defining a Moment in History: Parent Communication with Adolescents About September 11, 2001

• NCJ Number: 237463
• Journal: Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 40 Issue: 12 Dated: December 2011 Pages: 1691-1704
• Author(s): Tara M. Stoppa; Laura Wray-Lake; Amy K. Syvertsen; Constance Flanagan
• Date Published: December 2011
• Length: 14 pages
• Grant Number(s): RO1 DA005629; F31 DA024916-01; F31 DA024543-01
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute on Drug Abuse
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined self-reported communication of parents with their adolescents about the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Abstract

Parents play an important role in helping their children process and interpret significant sociohistorical events. However, little is known about how parents frame these experiences or the specific social, cultural, and civic messages they may communicate about the event. In this study, the authors examined self-reported communication of parents from six communities in the United States with their adolescents about the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Parents' (N = 972) open-ended responses about September 11th were analyzed to assess whether communication with their adolescents occurred and for thematic content. Results revealed marked variability in parents' communication and suggest that many parents used September 11th as an opportunity to impart sociocultural, emotional, and civic messages. Identifying the diversity in parents' responses aligns with the tenets of Terror Management Theory and provides insights into the roles of parents in translating pivotal historical moments. Collectively, these findings yield important implications for civic socialization. (Published Abstract)