| Description: |
Objectives. To determine whether groups traditionallymost vulnerable to disasters would be more likely than wouldbe others to perceive population-level risk as high (as measuredby the estimated color-coded alert level) would worry more aboutterrorism, and would avoid activities because of terrorism concerns.
Methods.Conducted a random digit dial survey of the Los Angeles Countypopulation October 2004 through January 2005 in 6 languages.Respondents were asked what color alert level the country wasunder, how often they worry about terrorist attacks, and howoften they avoid activities because of terrorism. Multivariateregression modeled correlates of worry and avoidance, includingmental illness, disability, demographic factors, and estimatedcolor-coded alert level.
Results. Persons who are mentally ill,those who are disabled, African Americans, Latinos, ChineseAmericans, Korean Americans, and non-US citizens were more likelyto perceive population-level risk as high, as measured by theestimated color-coded alert level. These groups also reportedmore worry and avoidance behaviors because of concerns aboutterrorism.
Conclusions. Vulnerable populations experience adisproportionate burden of the psychosocial impact of terrorismthreats and our national response. Further studies should investigatethe specific behaviors affected and further elucidate disparitiesin the disaster burden associated with terrorism and terrorismpolicies. |
| Citation: | Eisenman, D.P., Glik, D., Ong, M., Zhou, Q., Tseng, C.H., Long, A., Fielding, J., Asch, S. (2009). Terrorism-Related Fear and Avoidance Behavior in a Multiethnic Urban Population. American Journal of Public Health. 99(1):168-174. |