A new study released by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism ad Responses to Terrorism (START) on April 15 “reveals that about 15 percent of those surveyed had thought about the prospect of terrorism in the United States during the preceding week, significantly more than the percentage who said they thought about the possibility of hospitalization (10 percent) or violent crime victimization (10 percent).” The survey, which was conducted in the fall of 2012 and completed by 1,576 individuals 18 years of age or older, was ironically released on the day of the Boston Marathon bombings. A second survey is scheduled to be conducted sometime during 2013.

In the press release, Gary LaFree, director of START, is quoted as saying that “Improved understanding of public attitudes can inform program and tools related to managing public risk perception, increasing effectiveness of pre- and post-event communication by federal, state, and local officials and building and supporting more resilient social networks within and across communities.”