Table 1.

Themes emerging from focus group discussions

Theme	Content	Coded material included	Excluded
Disaster Experience	Survivors’ descriptions of learning about the terrorist attacks	Hearing about the attacks from others or the radio, watching the towers collapse on television or in person from a safe distance, and personally being in the WTC towers and directly witnessing or experiencing the attacks. Hearing about the attacks from others or the radio, watching the towers collapse on television or in person from a safe distance, and personally being in the WTC towers and directly witnessing or experiencing the attacks. Survivors’ emotional experience during the attacks.	Emotions described in the days or extended time following the attacks (instead coded in the Emotional Responses theme)
Emotional Responses	Content in two subthemes: posttraumatic stress symptoms and other emotional responses	Survivors’ emotional responses in the days or more extended time after the attacks, emotional responses of family members and peers described by the participants, and issues of bereavement and grief. Includes posttraumatic symptoms as well as other emotional responses.
Workplace Issues	Discussion pertaining to the post-9/11 work environment	Need to adjust to changes in the workplace after 9/11, recovery services provided in the workplace, needs and concerns from both employees’ and managers’ perspectives, and perceived impact of the 9/11 attacks on careers and salaries.
Coping	Content related to activities initiated by survivors to help process their feelings and experiences	Seeking psychotherapy and other measures such as seeking social support from family/friends/coworkers, and finding strength from religion.	Measures initiated by companies to help their employees cope in the workplace (instead coded in the Workplace Issues theme)
Issues of Public Concern	Matters of concern on a larger societal or national level	Discussion relating to politics, laws, conventions, cultural considerations, values, security, and the media.