Personality and Psychiatric Disorders among Employees of New York City Workplaces Affected by the 9/11 Attacks on the World Trade Center

The personality of newly graduated and employed nurses: Temperament and character profiles of Swedish nurses

“…In other words, the COVID-19 pandemic has been a traumatic experience for many caring professions, but specially for nurses who had a significantly higher incidence of severe depression compared with physicians during this period ( Lai et al., 2020 ). In this context, a recent study among workers in the New York area around the 9/11 terrorist attacks demonstrated that character development acts as buffer against the effects of this traumatic experience ( Reynolds et al., 2021 ). More specifically, underdeveloped Self-Directedness and/or Cooperativeness were associated with incident post-disaster psychopathology, while the combination low Harm Avoidance, high Self-Directedness, and high Persistence was associated with post-disaster resistance to persistence and/or recurrence of preexisting psychiatric illness ( Reynolds et al., 2021 ).…”

“…In this context, a recent study among workers in the New York area around the 9/11 terrorist attacks demonstrated that character development acts as buffer against the effects of this traumatic experience ( Reynolds et al., 2021 ). More specifically, underdeveloped Self-Directedness and/or Cooperativeness were associated with incident post-disaster psychopathology, while the combination low Harm Avoidance, high Self-Directedness, and high Persistence was associated with post-disaster resistance to persistence and/or recurrence of preexisting psychiatric illness ( Reynolds et al., 2021 ). Therefore, we argue that now more than ever, it is important to understand nurses’ personalities and their needs for character development during the current and future challenges of the 21st century.…”

Personality Change Across Four Years in World Trade Center Responders

“…As they advance through middle age, responders' Big-Five personality traits are associated with objective outcomes such as BMI, daily activity, and healthcare-related costs in WTC responders (Oltmanns et al, in press); including, in particular, personality facets such as Positive Temperament, Empathy, and Dutifulness. Persistent and recurrent parts of psychopathology following a disaster are also associated with personality traits in WTC responders (Reynolds et al, 2022). Personality disorders have been shown to impact treatment adherence in WTC responders-in particular, narcissistic personality traits (Aboagye, 2016).…”