The March 11 terrorist attacks in Madrid: The proximity of the residence to the affected areas

Disasters are traumatic events that affect many people in substantial ways (loss of relatives or friends, health, economy, residence, work, etc.). The variability of the consequences is enormous, both depending on the stressor (type of disaster, exposure level to trauma, etc.), and the individual characteristics (sex, social support, previous life stressors, etc.) Having one s residence close to the affected areas is a recent topic when investigating the factors associated to the consequences. In a broader research on the psychological consequences of the March 11th, 2004 terrorist attack in Madrid, the differences between the general population of residents in the city of Madrid and people living in three areas (in a radius of 1km around the explosions) were studied. The methodology was similar to that used by Galea et al. (2002) in the research of September 11th, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York City. Important differences in psychological sequelae related to the proximity of the residence were found in New York, whereas in Madrid, the consequences of living close to the affected areas were very similar to those of the general population living in 21 different districts.