The Effects of Terrorism: The Aftermath of the London Terror Attacks1

Keywords

Terrorism, Terror threats, community response

Abstract

The July 2005 London bombings highlight prevailing terrorist threats to the UK. The present study addressed the psychological response of a community indirectly exposed to the attacks. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), specific hypotheses examined associations between coping mechanisms (resilience, religious faith), emotions, and risk outcomes. Qualitative content analysis demonstrated the complexity of responses to terrorism. SEM analysis showed that resilience helped attenuate the effect of negative emotions; negative emotions heightened risk judgments; and respondents higher on religious faith displayed more positive emotions regarding the attacks. The content analysis supplemented quantitative results. Combined, these results highlight the importance of conveying accurate risk appraisals proportionate to the threat, as well as consideration of psychological operations, including resilience and religious faith.

Original Publication Citation

Bux, S. M., & Coyne, S. M. (2009). The effects of terrorism: The aftermath of the London terror attacks. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 39, 2936-2966.

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2009-12-09

Permanent URL

https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/facpub/2367

Publisher

Journal of Applied Social Psychology

Language

English

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Family Life

University Standing at Time of Publication

Full Professor

Link to Full Text

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