PSYCHOPATHOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES OF TERRORIST ATTACKS IN ADULT VICTIMS AND THEIR TREATMENT: STATE OF QUESTION

The aim of this paper is to describe the current state of the research on the psychopathological consequences of terrorist attacks in adult victims and their treatment. From the results of narrative and meta-analytic reviews of this research and the most recent empirical studies, especially those carried out with victims in Spain, eleven conclusions are extracted on the number of adult victims that develop psychological disorders, the psychological disorders that are most common, the course of these psychological disorders, the types of victims that are most affected, and the most appropriate treatment for their disorders. These conclusions converge to suggest that, after a terrorist attack, both direct and indirect victims (and among the latter, especially the relatives of those killed and wounded in the attack), will need psychological follow-up and care in the short, medium, long and very long term