Effects of trust in government, counterterrorism policies, and counterterrorism laws on fear of cyberterrorism and fear of terrorism

This study investigates the effects of trust in government, relational trust, counterterrorism policies, and counterterrorism laws on fear of cyberterrorism and fear of terrorism. The data were collected from randomly selected college students at a university in the United States (N = 353). The results of path analyses using structural equation modeling for both unmediated and mediated models indicated that trust in government was the only factor significantly reducing fear of both terrorism and cyberterrorism. Additionally, trust in government mediated the effects of relational trust, counterterrorism laws, and counterterrorism policies on fear of both terrorism and cyberterrorism. Furthermore, respondents were more fearful of cyberterrorism than terrorism. The results and limitations are discussed.