Research shows a significant impact of terrorism on the French psyche

Exactly three years after the terrorist attacks in various parts of Paris, the first findings of the study, which examined the effects of this and other similar disasters in the French psyche, were published. Large-scale research authors also highlight the issues that media coverage can cause for uninterrupted viewers. A quarter of the respondents said the murder was too much, AFP said.

The "unprecedented" survey, which will continue, is sponsored by France's National Public Health Agency. The project was called "13. November", according to the Paris attacks, in which a total of 130 people died in 2015. It also responds to other terrorist acts.

In assessing the psychological and sociological consequences, the population is divided into different groups. The circle of those most affected includes direct participants such as the wounded or hostages, immediate witnesses, and close victims. Researchers surveyed over the period of six to 18 months after the tragedy of 190 civilians belonging to this group, 18% discovered posttraumatic stress disorder and 20% more problems with depression or anxiety.

However, the killings of November 2015 had a noticeable impact on people outside the "first circle." In the days immediately following the killings, the Paris region recorded a record number of people on alert, most often diagnosed with post-traumatic stress or acute stress response. To a lesser degree, this wave appeared in the rest of the French territory.

"There were post-traumatic symptoms in individuals who were not directly exposed to the events and were not known to have suffered any murder," one of the authors of the Enguerrando du Roscoata poll told franceinfo television. "The number and intensity of these symptoms increased significantly, depending on how long the subject was exposed to images of attacks in the media," he added.

According to AFP, almost all those interviewed in the study seven months after November 2015 accurately recalled the circumstances in which they learned of the attacks at the Stade de France stadium and the business in Saint-Denis and central Paris. Three-quarters of respondents spoke about the need to continue talking about murders, but according to the remaining quarter, they are talking too much about the events.

Franceinfo notes that the reporting of terrorist attacks often traumatizes people who have a weakened psyche a priori. French scientists want to continue studying how post-traumatic disorders have affected everyday life. "It's about people who are at risk of social exclusion, problems going to work or interrupting leisure activities," said du Roscoat.