Terror Threat Perception and Coping Strategies among Individuals Struck by Terrorism

Abstract

Terrorism has become an eminent topic of discussion in today’s world. The present study has aimed to investigate the differences between individuals from business premises and residential areas on terror threat perceptions and coping strategies among individuals struck by terrorism. Ex Post Facto research design was used for the present study. The sample comprised 281 participants from both business premises (n = 100) and residential areas (n = 181) where bomb blasts have struck. The mean age of the sample was 34.5 years. The Terror Threat Perception Questionnaire (PTQ-SF), Terrorism Catastrophizing Scale (TCS), and Ways of Coping Questionnaire-Revised (WCQ-R) were used to assess the present study variables. Findings depicted that residential participants perceive more terror threats than participants from business premises. Threat perception and terror catastrophizing also found to be higher in females. However, males were found to involve more in emotion-focused coping than females. Furthermore, individuals who perceive higher levels of threat were found to engage more in emotion and problem-focused coping strategies. The present study findings have implications for health experts and would assist them in designing and understanding the importance of therapeutic services by focusing on the differences in threat perceptions of the affectees.