Attention, chocolate lovers: You may not be able to help yourselves. Swiss and British scientists have linked the widespread love of chocolate to a chemical "signature" that may be programmed into our metabolic systems.
Read more health news
Fatal Car Crashes Increase in Israel After Terror Attacks
MONDAY, Sept. 20 (HealthDayNews) -- Fatal car crashes spike dramatically in Israel three days after a terrorist attack, a new study finds. This suggests the countless attacks in recent years may be having a widespread impact on Israeli society due to heightened stress.
To measure the attacks' effects, researchers looked at traffic accidents and found that fatal crashes increased by 35 percent three days after the attacks. After severe attacks, fatal accidents increased even more, according to the report in this week's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "These attacks that injure and kill many people not only affect the people who are in the attack, but the broader population," said researcher Joshua R. Goldstein, an associate professor of sociology at Princeton University. Goldstein said, however, that because of the frequency of attacks against Israel, the findings may not extend to other countries that are targeted by terrorists. There has not been much research on how terror attacks affect society in general, Goldstein said. So he and his colleague, Guy Stecklov, a sociologist at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, decided to look at the impact on everyday activities, such as driving. The researchers examined terror attacks and fatal traffic accidents in Israel from January 2001 to June 2002. "The surprising finding was that people's driving behavior was more dangerous following attacks," Goldstein said. While fatal accidents decreased the day following an attack, three days later deadly crashes increased by 35 percent. However, by the fourth day the number of fatal accidents had returned to normal, the researchers found. The reasons for this pattern aren't clear. Goldstein speculated that people are stressed by an attack and are more cautious for a few days. "But then life returns to normal, and you resume your everyday behavior, but you are not quite ready for it," he said. Another explanation, Goldstein said, is that the attacks may make some people suicidal. "You can put a damper on your reactions for a few days, but this damper has an outlet that comes several days later," Goldstein said. This delayed reaction to stress may also account for the finding, he noted. "These explanations are not based on evidence," Goldstein said. "They are just based on what the literature shows about people's reactions to these things." Goldstein noted the situation in Israel is different from most countries because terror attacks have been ongoing for a long time. "These attacks are quite different than a Sept. 11-type attack," he said. "The parallel there is not very strong. These are repeated incidences of stress."
Goldstein believes that driving behavior is just a small reflection of how a society might react to continued stress. He said that while he and his colleagues have not looked at other behaviors, he thinks that one may see an increase in stress-linked behaviors, such as domestic violence or increased smoking. James W. Pennebaker, a professor of psychology at the University of Texas, said, "This study is an important project in demonstrating some of the subtle effects of terrorism or any broad-scale distressing event. There is very little doubt that comparable effects would occur in all cultures, including the U.S." More information The National Mental Health Association can tell you more about coping with stress.
|