Effect of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on death anxiety in university students

A sample of 440 undergraduate university students completed the Templer Death Anxiety Scale 2 wk. prior to and 2 wk. after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Women comprised 66% of the sample, and 79% of the sample identified themselves as 18 to 21 years of age and either freshmen or sophomores. There was no significant mean difference in the pre- and postterrorist attack Death Anxiety scores. Differences were found on two individual scale items.