Topic: Disasters, terror and stress management

The terror attack: How are the terrorist attacks affecting us? A study of the Norwegian population after the 22nd of July attacks

The main aims of terrorism is to awake fear in the population, and/or to influence attitudes. The terrorist attacks the 22nd of July was followed by a mobilisation of the population, with large amounts of people participating in official seremonies, flower parades and candle lighting, among other things. The attacks apear to have had a big impact on the population the first few days, but we know little of the effect over time

 
2011 This project has been completed 2017

Project Manager

Project Members

Main objective

This survey will give us knowledge about the ways in which 22nd of July has influenced the Norwegian population in terms of fear, mental health and attitudes towards safety and other current social topics.

Method

2500 randomly selected persons will be invited to participate in a phone interview. Each interview will have a duration of aproximatly 20 minutes.

Further information

Collaborators

The Norwegian Directorate of Health has requested this study. Ipsos MMI is our collaborator for data collection.

Publications

Magruder, K. M., Kassam-Adams, N., Thoresen, S., & Olff, M. (2016). Prevention and public health approaches to trauma and traumatic stress: a rationale and a call to action. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 7. doi:10.3402/ejpt.v7.29715

Thoresen, S., Jensen, T. K., Wentzel-Larsen, T., & Dyb, G. (2016). Parents of terror victims. A longitudinal study of parental mental health following the 2011 terrorist attack on Utøya Island. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 38, 47-54. doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2016.01.004

Jensen, T. K., Thoresen, S., & Dyb, G. (2015). Coping responses in the midst of terror: The July 22 terror attack at Utøya Island in Norway. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 56(1), 45-52. doi:10.1111/sjop.12182

Dyb, G., Jensen, T. K., Glad, K. A., Nygaard, E., & Thoresen, S. (2014). Early outreach to survivors of the shootings in Norway on the 22nd of July 2011. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 5. doi:10.3402/ejpt.v5.23523

Thoresen, S., Jensen, T. K., & Dyb, G. (2014). Media Participation and Mental Health in Terrorist Attack Survivors. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 27(6), 639-646. doi:10.1002/jts.21971

Thoresen, S., Jensen, T. K., Wentzel-Larsen, T., & Dyb, G. (2014). Social support barriers and mental health in terrorist attack survivors. Journal of Affective Disorders, 156, 187-193. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2013.12.014

Thoresen, S., Aakvaag, H. F., Wentzel-Larsen, T., Dyb, G., & Hjemdal, O. K. (2012). The day Norway cried: Proximity and distress in Norwegian citizens following the 22nd July 2011 terrorist attacks in Oslo and on Utøya Island. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 3. doi:10.3402/ejpt.v3i0.19709