Contact: Darren Davis, Office for Survey Research, (517) 432-0028, davisda@msu.edu; Brian Silver, Office for Survey Research, (517) 355-2237, bsilver@msu.edu; Gisgie Dávila Gendreau, University Relations, (517) 432-0924, gendrea3@msu.edu

4/21/2004

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan’s minority residents say they are “very concerned” about another terrorist attack on U.S. soil, even when overall alarm or unease has fallen since 9/11, a report released today by Michigan State University has found.

Black (52 percent) and Hispanic (43 percent) residents are much more likely than white residents (26 percent) to be “very” concerned about the threat of another terrorist attack, the survey found.

Overall, 44 percent of Michigan residents were very concerned about another attack in winter 2002, but after the fall of Baghdad in April 2003, this percentage was cut in half and has remained at this lower level.

“The substantially higher percentages among these ethnic and racial minorities suggest that members of these groups tend to see U.S. international behavior in a much less positive light than does the white majority population,” noted Darren Davis, co-principal investigator and MSU professor of political science.

The results are based on a series of nine surveys conducted from January 2002 through March 2004. MSU’s Office for Survey Research administered the survey with funding support from the MSU Office of the Provost and College of Social Science. Between 950 and 1,000 Michigan adults participated in telephone interviews for each of the nine surveys, with an error margin of plus or minus 3.1 percent.

The survey also revealed some variance in how much responsibility people place on the United States for the hatred that is said to have led to the terrorist attacks. Compared to 52 percent of whites who attribute responsibility to the United States, some 59 percent of Hispanics and 71 percent of blacks feel this way.

The survey also revealed that Democrats are much more likely to say they are “very concerned” than are Republicans (38 percent versus 25 percent). But this difference can also be partly attributed to the high levels of concern among blacks and Hispanics, who identified themselves as supporting the Democratic Party.

“America’s policies in homeland security and anti-terrorism are important presidential election issues,” said Brian Silver, co-principal investigator and MSU professor of political science. “It is interesting to see how these differences of opinion among citizens are playing out in the debate.”

Questions about trust in the federal government revealed strong support (84 percent) in 2002; levels have since receded to pre-terrorist attack levels of 75 percent. Trust in the Michigan state government did not seem to be affected by the terrorist attacks and is currently at 89 percent.

For the complete study, visit www.ippsr.msu.edu

The Institute for Public Policy and Social Research’s Office for Survey Research (OSR) was established in 1989 to produce rigorous survey research on pressing public policy and scientific issues. Housed within MSU's College of Social Science, OSR offers its expertise and capacities to policy decision-makers and researchers in the public and private sectors.