Factors Affecting the Amplification or Attenuation of Public Worry and Dread about Bioterrorist Attacks
AUTHOR:
Lulu Rodriguez Lulu Rodriguez is professor in the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication at Iowa State University. She holds a joint appointment with Iowa State’s Biosafety Institute for Genetically Modified Agricultural Products. Dr. Rodriguez teaches courses in science and risk communication and researches consumer opinions about controversial agricultural technologies and the visual communication of risk. She earned her PhD in mass communication from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Rodriguez may be reached at
lulurod@iastate.edu.
AUTHOR:
Suman Lee Suman Lee is assistant professor in the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication at Iowa State University. He teaches courses in public relations and strategic communication. His primary research interests center on international and global issues of public relations and how organizations can build mutually beneficial relationships and communicate effectively with various publics in the context of internationalization and globalization. He earned his PhD in mass communication from Syracuse University. Dr. Lee may be reached at
smlee@iastate.edu.
ABSTRACT:
This study examined what variables – technical/rational or normative/value – predict public worry and dread about bioterrorist attacks. Data from a national sample indicate that the technical variable of media attention and the normative variable of perceived readiness of the government to counter threats predicted level of worry. The normative variables of trust in universities and advocacy groups, trust in interpersonal sources, alienation from government, and government readiness to defend the country against attacks predicted level of dread. The results point to the need to provide the public with information, through the most effective channels, to maintain a sense of trust in the government’s and individuals’ abilities to provide protection in the event of attack.
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SUGGESTED CITATION:Rodriguez, Lulu, and Suman Lee. “Factors Affecting the Amplification or Attenuation of Public Worry and Dread about Bioterrorist Attacks.”
Homeland Security Affairs 6, issue 1 (January 2010)
http://www.hsaj.org/?article=6.1.7
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