Terrorism Preparedness Among New York Residents Has Increased While Overall Fear of Terrorism Has Waned, New Study Shows

NEW YORK CITY, Sept. 24 ??? Fear of terrorism dropped among New York State adults between September 2002 and the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, according to new research by The New York Academy of Medicine. But even as their fears waned, more New Yorkers than before had made personal preparations for future terrorist attacks.

As of March, 14.7 percent of New York State residents had made preparations such as stockpiling food and water, preparing an emergency kit or developing an escape plan, more than twice as many people as in September 2002 (6.6 percent), researchers found. The number of New York State residents who said they???d flee their communities during a terrorist attack???even if instructed not to do so by police or other public officials???remained about the same over time. The findings were based on three surveys conducted among about 4,000 New York State residents between September 2002 and March 2003. ???They show an interesting association between people???s fear of future attacks and the impact on behavior and public trust in a region affected by terrorism,??? said Joseph A. Boscarino, Ph.D., M.P.H., Senior Scientist in the Academy???s Division of Health and Science Policy. Boscarino presented his findings this month at the annual meeting of the American College of Epidemiology in Chicago.

???The deployment of at least a moderate-size chemical, biological or radiological device or even a conventional attack in the U.S. by terrorists is a possibility in the future,??? Boscarino said. ???Better understanding of public terrorism fears, preparedness, and evacuation behaviors will help enormously with future disaster planning and service delivery efforts.???

Not surprisingly, overall terrorism fears were much higher in New York City and Long Island than in upstate New York, the surveys show. In September 2002, 42.7 percent of New York City area adults reported being fearful of future terrorist attacks, compared with 22.5 percent in the rest of the state. By March 2003, fear levels had dropped to 33.4 percent in the New York City area and to 15.3 percent in the rest of the state. Both throughout the state and in New York City, terrorism fears were higher among women, African Americans, Latinos and those with lower levels of education and income. In New York City, fear was also higher among adults who: have children under age 18 living at home; were directly affected by the World Trade Center attacks (e.g., they experienced the attacks firsthand or had a friend or relative killed or injured in the attacks); and/or have psychological disorders such as PTSD or problems with anxiety, in some cases related to the September 11 attacks.

In September 2002, about 30 percent of New Yorkers reported that they would flee their communities in the event of a biological, chemical or nuclear attack in their area, researchers also found. This figure remained about the same in March 2003, with New York City area residents more likely than upstate residents to say they would flee.

New Yorkers said they trust police and fire department personnel more than government officials to provide accurate information about the need to evacuate. Just over half (54.9 percent) of New Yorkers statewide said they would trust government information when making their evacuation decisions, while 69 percent of New Yorkers would be confident in police or fire officials??? information. However, trust of government officials??? information actually increased after the U.S. invaded Iraq, rising from a pre-war trust level of 45.1 percent. The majority of New Yorkers (62 percent) did not know that they could get bioterrorism information on the state Health Department???s website, http://www.health.state.ny.us/.

Finally, nearly two-thirds of New Yorkers statewide (61 percent) indicated they would likely receive the smallpox vaccine if available.

???Future evaluation efforts need to address public concerns about terrorist attacks in New York and why women, African-Americans, Hispanics and people with less education have significantly higher terrorism fears,??? Boscarino said. ???We also need to understand why the public has lower trust of government-sponsored bioterrorism information. Not knowing the answers to these questions could hurt our ability as a society to deal with future terrorist events.???

This study was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the National Institute of Mental Health. The New York Academy of Medicine is a non-profit institution founded in 1847 that is dedicated to enhancing the health of the public through research education and advocacy with a particular focus on urban populations, especially the disadvantaged.

Posted on September 24, 2003

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