In our survey we asked a random sample of Americans about fears of terrorism. First, we asked about their fears of a terrorist attack in general. And then we asked about being the victim of a terrorist attack:

[Terrorist Attack] How afraid are you of the following events? 41% Afraid or Very Afraid

[Terrorism] How afraid are you of being the victim of the following crimes? 39% Afraid or Very Afraid

Some 61% of Americans believe, “The United States is likely to experience a large scale terrorist event (such as 9/11) in the near future.”

We then asked whether fear of terrorism had caused Americans to rethink everyday activities such as travel or attending concerts and whether they are willing to undergo longer lines and additional airport screenings because of their fears.

Recent Acts of Terror have made me…

  Percent of Americans
Fear travelling abroad 53%
Believe Americans are targets of terror when travelling abroad 70%
Less likely to attend concerts, sporting or other public events 24%
More willing to accept security screenings and longer lines at the airport 78%

* Percent of Americans that agree or strongly agree with the statement. All percentages are rounded.

fear-survey-2016_page_6

Finally, we asked whether Americans believe the government has done a good job responding to terrorism and about half, 51% said believe or strongly believe that it has. There are clear partisan differences in views on the government’s handling of terrorism, with Democrats being more likely to believe government has done a good job than either Republicans or Independents.

Government Terror Response by Party Identification

Fear/Concern Republicans Democrats Independents
Believes the government has done a good job responding to terrorism 37% 67% 45%

* Percent of Americans that agree or strongly agree with the statement. All percentages are rounded.fear-survey-2016_page_7