The "tough-guy" stereotype often foisted on New Yorkers makes the findings from a new survey on reactions to the Sept. 11 terror attacks all the more striking. The study, co-sponsored by Gallup and the University of Oklahoma Department of Psychiatry through a grant from the Oklahoma City National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism (MIPT)*, included oversamples of respondents in three metropolitan areas most recently affected by acts of terrorism: New York City (548 respondents), Washington, D.C. (526) and Oklahoma City (508).
Nationally, nearly four in 10 Americans currently say they are very worried (8%) or somewhat worried (31%) that they or a family member will become a victim of a terrorist attack in the United States -- figures relatively similar to the averages tracked by Gallup and MIPT over the past seven years. Though the numbers for D.C. (9% very worried) and Oklahoma City (6% very worried) are similar to those for the rest of the United States, those for New York City are now significantly higher -- 19% of New Yorkers say they very worried about future attacks, and 34% are somewhat worried.
Further, respondents in each sample were asked to rate how safe they felt prior to Sept. 11, and how safe they currently feel. New Yorkers were just as likely as Americans outside New York to say they felt safe before Sept. 11, but less likely to say they now feel safe. In the New York City area, 42% said they felt safe prior to Sept. 11, but only 12% said they feel safe now. The figures for the rest of the country are 39% and 17%, respectively.
The Washington, D.C. area, which was directly affected by the Sept. 11 attack on the Pentagon, and Oklahoma City, the site of the 1995 terrorist bombing of a federal building, showed levels of perceived safety that were closer to the national average. In general, the results for D.C. were similar to the figures for the United States excluding D.C., New York and Oklahoma City, with one notable exception: when asked whether there is "good reason" or "little reason" for them to personally fear terrorist threats, 47% of Washingtonians chose the former response, results similar to the figure among New Yorkers (51%) but significantly higher than the 33% for Oklahoma City residents and 34% for the rest of the country.
Behaviors and Attitudes
With regard to behavioral changes, New Yorkers are significantly more likely than other Americans to say they are more alert than they were prior to Sept. 11 -- 38% strongly agree with this statement, while 50% agree (the figures for the United States excluding New York City, D.C. and Oklahoma City: 29% strongly agree, 56%agree). About seven in 10 New York respondents (69%) strongly agree or agree that they check more often on the whereabouts of their loved ones (versus 64% of Americans outside the targeted areas), and almost a third (31%) strongly agree or agree that they are now more likely to avoid public events or crowded areas (versus 22% of Americans outside New York, Washington or Oklahoma City).
In some cases, New Yorkers are also more willing than other Americans to accept new security measures. When asked about requiring national ID cards that contain fingerprints or citizenship information, 43% say they "strongly favor" such a measure, versus 31% of Americans outside New York, Washington or Oklahoma City. There is a smaller, but still significant, difference with regard to requiring smallpox vaccinations: 36% of New Yorkers say they strongly favor the measure, compared to 29% in the United States outside the targeted study areas. When it comes to covert surveillance, however, New Yorkers draw the line -- just 11% strongly favor making it easier for legal authorities to read mail and e-mail or tap phones without the person's knowledge, similar to the national figure of 8%.
*Results for the survey are based on telephone interviews with a national sample of 934 adults, aged 18 and older, and samples of about 500 adults each for the New York City, Washington, D.C., and Oklahoma City results. Final national figures are derived from all interviews combined proportionate to the actual geographic distribution of adults living in telephone households in the continental United States. All interviews were conducted between Jan. 28 and March 22, 2002. One can say with 95% confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects is ±2% for the national results and ±4% for each of the cities.
This research was supported, in part, under award number MIPT106-113-2000-020 from the Oklahoma City National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism and the Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice, Department of Justice. Points of view in this document are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Oklahoma City National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism or the Department of Justice.
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