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Citation
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Shigemura J, Fullerton CS, Ursano RJ, Wang L, Querci-Daniore R, Horikawa N, Yoshino A, Nomura S. Asian J. Psychiatry 2010; 3(3): 117-120. |
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Abstract
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Introduction: Few studies have focused on public responses to terror threat among the Asian community in the United States. An Internet-based survey was conducted among 87 Japanese individuals living in the Washington, D.C. area to examine the risk factors for perceiving high fear of terrorism.
Methods: The subjects were members of four Japanese community organizations based in the greater Washington region. Their degree of the fear of terrorism was assessed using a five-point Likert scale (Fear of Terrorism Score; FTS), ranging from 0 (not at all) to 4 (extremely). A score of 2 or more was defined as a high FTS.
Results: Bivariate analysis revealed that a high FTS was associated with being ≥36 years old, female, married, a permanent U.S. resident, a housewife, and having lived in the Washington or New York area during the September 11, 2001 attacks (p<0.05). In a multivariate model, being female was a predictor of high FTS (odds ratio=6.3, 95% confidence interval: 1.3-40.8, p=0.024).
Conclusions: Japanese women living in the Washington area were six times more likely to perceive high fear of terrorism than men.
Keywords: Gender, Terrorism, Anxiety, Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Japanese |