Association Between Feeling Threatened, Behaviour and Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression: Two and a Half Years After the Terrorist Attacks in Belgium

• Published in: Community mental health journal Vol. 58; no. 4; pp. 657 - 665
• Main Authors: Van Overmeire, Roel, Six, Stefaan, Deschepper, Reginald, Vandekerckhove, Marie, Bilsen, Johan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.05.2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Anxiety; Anxiety - diagnosis; Anxiety - epidemiology; Avoidance behavior; Behavior change; Belgium - epidemiology; Community and Environmental Psychology; Community health care; Depression - diagnosis; Depression - epidemiology; Female; Health behavior; Health problems; Health services; Humans; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mental depression; Mental disorders; Mental health; Mental health care; Original Paper; Psychiatry; Social support; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - psychology; Symptoms; Terrorism; Terrorism - psychology; Threats; Trauma; Traumatic life events; Belgium; Terrorism; Behaviour; Mental health; Threat
• ISSN: 0010-3853; 1573-2789; 1573-2789
• DOI: 10.1007/s10597-021-00867-w

Feeling threatened by terrorism can be associated with mental health problems and behavioural changes. However, few studies look at the association in the long-term. Using a survey, the population in Brussels, Belgium was studied using a representative database delivered by the national post service. The Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4) assessed mental health, and self-made questions avoidance behaviour. 170 people answered: 60% women and 50% higher educated, 28.2% between 56 and 65 years and 62.4% had a partner. 43.5% felt threatened by the terrorist attacks and 45.9% experienced no mental health problems. Both terrorist threat (p < 0.001) and avoidance behaviour (p < 0.001) significantly predicted PHQ-4 scores, while controlling for gender, age, social support, education level, and traumatic events. There is a relation between terrorist threat and anxiety/depressive symptoms 2.5 years after the last study on terrorist threat in Brussels, but it has weakened. Avoidance behaviour seems to be more present than threat.