Background: In December 2016, a semitrailer truck was steered into a crowded Christmas market in Berlin. This incident gained notoriety as the first Islamist terrorist attack carried out on German territory with civilian casualties as well as severe injuries. An incident like this in one’s homeland is likely to influence how terror risks are perceived in the population. Experience with an incident can affect how its risk is perceived (Knuth, Kehl, Hulse, & Schmidt, 2014). In turn, risk perceptions may influence what kind of mitigating measures citizens demand of their government. Understanding the dynamics of perceived terror risk is essential in order to deal responsibly with demands of the public. The research presented here forms a basis for the understanding of lay people’s risk perception in regard to terrorism.
Study: Four days after the attack on the Christmas market in Berlin, we conducted an online survey questioning the participants about different aspects of risk perception regarding terrorism. Additional to risk perception, general resilience of participants was assessed. The data will be scrutinized in relation to data of risk perception and resilience gathered in the earlier study. This comparison allows for the assessment of stability or changes in terror related risk perception or different aspects thereof over time.
Method: The sample was recruited from participants of a previous study in 2012/2013 concerning terrorism who had given their permission to be contacted again. We approached 413 former participants, whereof 53 were unattainable. We anticipate a response from around 120 participants. Participants rated the following dimensions/aspects of terror related risk perception at both points in time: (1) likelihood to experience a terroristic event; (2) concern with regard to experiencing a terroristic event; (3) expected severity of consequences of a terrorist attack in general and (4) for their own lives.
Results: In the immediate aftermath of the Berlin Attack, we expect risk perception in general to be higher than during the first study. Our results offer valuable insight into the influence of experience with terror in one’s own country – even if the experience only was made through the media – on perceived risk.