Introduction

Terrorist attacks are extremely violent events, aimed against people of all ages from all parts of society, with no distinction between genders (Onat et al., 2021; Perry et al., 2019). The impact of terrorism is not restricted to the direct victims, but extends to the entire community (Onat et al., 2021; Williamson et al., 2019) and induces a sense of vulnerability, fear, anxiety and helplessness among the general population (Cohen-Louck, 2019; Hoffman et al., 2016; Shechory Bitton & Laufer, 2021). Therefore, the fear of being a terrorist attack victim, known as fear of terrorism (Braithwaite, 2013), has resulted in considerable research interest.

The research on fear of terrorism has addressed various demographic, psychological, and community characteristics (Nellis, 2009; Shechory Bitton & Silawi, 2019; Todd et al., 2005). Yet, studies have not addressed the association between fear of terrorism and other types of fears, such of fear of crime. Fear of crime manifests in fears and worries regarding criminal victimization (Alfaro-Beracoechea et al., 2018; Cook & Fox, 2011; Hale, 1996; Park et al., 2011), and the concept of fear of crime incorporates, inter alia, fears regarding specific crimes (e.g., theft, rape, robbery) and a general cognitive aspect, which manifests in a sense of insecurity (Franklin et al., 2008).

Though fear of crime and fear of terrorism are distinct concepts, and they share some similarities. Both concepts address a potential violent victimization (Nellis, 2009; Warr, 1984) that can cause adverse physical and mental consequences, and both fears share similar predictive factors (Shechory-Bitton & Cohen-Louck, 2018; Zemishlany, 2012). In light of these similarities, the current research aims to examine the association between aspects of fear of crime, individual characteristics (locus of control and coping strategies) and fear of terrorism. Furthermore, considering the notion that some factors are more relevant to the prediction of women’s fear of crime than men’s (e.g., fear of rape; Ferraro, 1996), this study aims to examine whether some individual predictors of fear of terrorism are more relevant to women than men.

Fear of Crime and Fear of Terrorism

Terrorist attacks and criminal offences differ in regard to motivations and goals (Brück & Müller, 2010; Hasisi et al., 2020) as well as victim and offender characteristic (Lowry & Lating, 2002). Yet, both terrorist attacks and criminal offences are forms of violence (Nellis, 2009; Warr, 1984) that can cause injuries and death, disturb the social fabric of life (Ganor, 2005; Zemishlany, 2012), impair personal wellbeing (Cohen-Louck, 2019; Hoffman et al., 2016; Solomon et al., 1988), and create fears (Ganor, 2005; Zemishlany, 2012) not just in the victims but also in the general public (Alfaro-Beracoechea et al., 2018; Box et al., 1988; Brück & Müller, 2010; Cohen-Louck, 2019; Hale, 1996; Hoffman et al., 2016; Park et al., 2011; Rader, 2017; Shechory Bitton & Laufer, 2021).

Some studies compared levels of fear of terrorism to levels of fear of crime, and found common factors that predict both types of fear (e.g., Shechory-Bitton & Cohen-Louck, 2018). One such factor is gender. Women express a stronger fear of crime than men even though women are in lesser danger of being victimized by crime than men (e.g., Chataway & Hart, 2019). This contradiction is referred to as the 'fear-victimization paradox' (Ferraro, 1996). A similar pattern exists in fear of terrorism. While there are more male than female victims of terrorism (Ortbals & Poloni-Staudinger, 2018), women fear terrorist attacks more than men (Eichenberg et al., 2022; Nellis, 2009; Shechory Bitton & Silawi, 2019).

Additionally, both fear of terrorism and fear of crime tend to be higher in specific residential areas and geographic locations. Thus, residents of central Israel (e.g., Tel-Aviv) feel more threatened by crime and terrorism than residents of Judea and Samaria (Shechory-Bitton & Cohen-Louck, 2018). On a national level, Israeli citizens report stronger fear of crime and fear of terrorism than Swedish citizens (Shechory-Bitton & Shachaf Friedman, 2018). Signs of neighborhood disorder (e.g., vandalism, drunks on the streets) also predict fear of crime as well as fear of terrorism (Shechory-Bitton & Cohen-Louck, 2018). Considering the similarities in predictors of fear of crime and fear of terrorism, it is possible to assume that these fears are associated.

Fear of Rape and a Sense of Insecurity

The current study focused on two key aspects of fear of crime: fear of a specific crime (rape) and sense of insecurity. The choice to focus on fear of rape stems from the salient emphasis on the fear of rape in research and theory on gender gap in fear of crime. Thus, according to the Shadow Theory (Shadow of Sexual Assault; Ferraro, 1996; Mark, 1984), the fear of rape plays a significant role in women's heightened fear of other crimes (Ferraro, 1996; Warr, 1985). Fear of rape escalates and "overshadows" women's fear of other types of crimes, because women fear that other crimes can lead to rape. For example, a home invasion or theft may end in rape. According to the shadow theory, the fear of sexual assault and rape are not considered relevant predictors of fear of crime among men (Mark, 1984; Mellgren & Ivert, 2019; Nellis, 2009). As for sense of insecurity, research indicates that fears of sexual assault cause women to express a stronger concern for their personal safety (Gustafsod, 1998; Lagrange & Ferraro, 1989).

There are also gender differences in sense of insecurity (Eichenberg et al., 2022). Women feel less safe than men in various situations (see Gustafsod, 1998) and prefer more than men using safety measures such as avoiding walking alone and meeting strangers after dark (e.g., Ceccato & Loukaitou-Sideris, 2022; Lagrange & Ferraro, 1989; Szymanski et al., 2021). Based on this literature review, this study focused on fear of rape and sense of insecurity and hypothesized that:

  • H1: Fear of rape is positively associated with a sense of insecurity among women, but not among men.

Fear of Rape, Sense of Insecurity, and Fear of Terrorism

As we have mentioned, both fear of crime and fear of terrorism are characterized by a gender gap. The gender gap in fear of crime is explained through women’s fear of rape (Ferraro, 1996) and sense of insecurity (e.g., Eichenberg et al., 2022; Gustafsod, 1998). However, the proposal that fear of rape explains fear of terrorism may seem counterintuitive, since terrorism does not facilitate sexual assault as may be the case with violent criminal offences (May et al., 2011; Nellis, 2009). Nevertheless, it may be that the link between fear of crime and fear of terrorism is more complex and can be better represented through a mediating role of sense of insecurity between fear of rape and fear of terrorism. There is evidence that fear of terrorism is associated with social and physical vulnerability (Nellis, 2009; Onat et al., 2021; Shechory Bitton & Silawi, 2019; Shechory-Bitton & Cohen-Louck, 2018). A feeling of vulnerability means a feeling of being exposed to the possibility of attack or harm, either physical or emotional (“Vulnerability,” 2022a) and is synonymous with a feeling of unsafety and sense of insecurity (“Vulnerability,” 2022b). Therefore, it is possible to assume that a sense of unsafety or insecurity is associated with fear of terrorism (Aly & Green, 2010; Korstanje & George, 2020; Seabra et al., 2014) and we hypothesize that:

  • H2: A sense of insecurity is positively associated with fear of terrorism.

Furthermore, since fear of rape is associated with a sense of insecurity, this study hypothesizes that:

  • H3: A sense of insecurity mediates between fear of rape and fear of terrorism.

Fear of Terrorism and Coping Styles

One of the factors related to fear of terrorism is coping style (Cohen-Louck & Ben-David, 2017; Shechory Bitton & Laufer, 2021), which refers to thoughts and acts that people use to manage stressful events (Folkman et al., 1987). Lazarus and Folkman (1984) identified two coping styles: problem-focused and emotion-focused (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). Problem-focused coping manifests in problem-solving and in dealing directly with stress sources, whereas emotion-focused coping aims to reduce emotional stress resulting from stressful events. An additional coping strategy is avoidance (Wenzlaff et al., 1988) which aims to ignore the stressful event and its emotional consequences (Carver & Connor-Smith, 2010; Zeidner, 2006; Zeidner & Ben-Zur, 1994). Research on effects of terrorism shows that problem-focused coping such as searching for suspicious objects and identifying suspects is associated with lower emotional distress (Carver & Connor-Smith, 2010) and higher perception of control (Cohen-Louck & Levy, 2020). Conversely, emotion-focused coping is associated with adverse consequences such as increased stress and PTSD (Braun-Lewensohn et al., 2009; Gil, 2005; Nuttman-Shwartz & Dekel, 2009) and low levels of perceived control in the context of terrorism (Cohen-Louck & Levy, 2020). Similarly to emotion-focused coping, avoidance is linked with increased PTSD symptoms among civilians exposed to terror attacks (Gil, 2005; Vázquez et al., 2008). Therefore, we hypothesize that:

  • H4: Coping styles are associated with fear of terrorism: a) problem-focused coping is negatively associated with fear of terrorism; b) emotion-focused coping and avoidance are positively associated with fear of terrorism.

Fear of Terrorism and Locus of Control

An additional factor that can contribute to the prediction of fear of terrorism is locus of control (LOC). According to Lefcourt (1991), LOC is defined in terms of the extent to which people feel they control the events that affect them, which can be either by an external (e.g., luck, nature) or an internal control (one's own actions). Traditionally, individuals with an internal LOC tend to believe they can control what happens to them, while those with an external LOC believe they do not have control over the outcomes of their life (Buddelmeyer & Powdthavee, 2016; Lefcourt, 1991; Zeligman et al., 2019). Previous studies found an association between LOC and PTSD regarding participants exposed to terrorist attacks. Specifically, individuals with internal LOC were more protected from PTSD symptoms, whereas external LOC was positively linked with overall PTSD symptom severity (Galvin et al., 2018; Solomon et al., 1988; Todd et al., 2005). Hoffman et al. (2016) found that higher internal control predicted lower level of PTSD symptoms among individuals exposed to missile attacks in Israel (Hoffman et al., 2016). As they are uncontrollable events, terrorist attacks tend to be random in timing and targeting (LaFree et al., 2015), and individuals with an external LOC may be more anxious and afraid of terrorism (see Solomon et al., 1988). Therefore, it is possible to hypothesize that:

  • H5: LOC is associated with fear of terrorism: 1) external LOC is positively associated with fear of terrorism; 2) internal LOC is negatively associated with fear of terrorism.

The Current Research

The current research aims to identify factors that predict fear of terrorism by exploring the contribution of fear of crime, coping style and LOC to predict fear of terrorism. This study addresses fear of crime by focusing on two main aspects: fear of rape and sense of insecurity. This study is the first to empirically examine the shadow theory in the context of fear of terrorism by addressing the role of sense of insecurity in the mediation between fear of rape and fear of terrorism. It is possible that the shadow theory has a wider meaning and may account not only for the gender gap in fear of crime, but also for the gender gap in fear of terrorism. This study’s findings may contribute to the expansion of the theoretical shadow theory and can be useful for clinical management of fear of terrorism.

Methods

Participants

This study included 754 Israeli respondents. Respondents’ age-range was 18–75 (M = 29.62, SD = 13.05), and as Table 1 shows, about half of the respondents were male. The majority of the respondents were single, Jewish, reported a high-school level of education, and close to half of the participants were secular. There was a significant association between gender and age, and marital status. Female participants were younger than male participants, and correspondently, there were more single participants among women than among men. There was no significant association between educational level, religiosity and gender.

Table 1 Demographic characteristics of the participants by gender (N = 754)
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Measures

Demographic Characteristics

The participants reported their gender, age, educational level, ethnicity (Arab/Druze/Jew), family status (single/married/divorced/widowed), and religiosity (secular/ traditional/ religious) and prior victimization (i.e., have you ever been a victim of any crime?).

Fear of Terrorism

To estimate participant fear of terrorism, this study included eight items that addressed worries about terrorist acts (e.g., “I'm afraid of being a victim of terrorism”), with replies ranging from 0 (never) to 4 (always). The items were adapted from Klar et al.'s (2002) questionnaire, and higher mean scores reflected greater fear of terrorism. Alpha Cronbach was 0.85.

Fear of Crime

The survey included Franklin et al.’s (2008) cognitive indicator for fear of crime using ten items addressing the sense of insecurity (e.g., “I fear to travel by bus at night”). We also used Senn and Dzinas’s (1996) six items addressing fear of rape (e.g., “I fear being a victim of rape”). The answers were on a scale from 0 (never) to 4 (always). Alpha Cronbach for sense of insecurity was 0.92 and for fear of rape was 0.88.

Locus of Control

Levenson’s (1974) LOC scale included 24 items and was divided between three subscales assessing to what degree individuals believe that events are caused by external or internal factors. One subscale addresses internal factors (i.e., their own behavior/actions) and the other two subscales address external factors: 1. chance/fate, and 2. powerful others. The answers were on a scale from 1 (completely disagree) to 5 (completely agree). Alpha Cronbach for the chance/fate subscale was 0.69, for the powerful others subscale 0.81, and for the internal factors subscale 0.69.

Coping Strategies

To assess coping strategies, this study included 19 items from Parkes’s (1984) “ways of coping” questionnaire. A factor analysis indicated that eight items addressed problem-focused coping (e.g., “Came up with a couple of different solutions to the problem”) and 11 items addressed emotion-focused coping (e.g., “Wished that you could change the way you felt”). The participants reported the extent to which they used different coping strategies in response to terror attacks on a 4-point scale ranging from 1 (to a small extent) to 4 (to a great extent). Alpha Cronbach for problem-focused coping was 0.77, and for emotion-focused coping was 0.81.

Procedure

Data Collection

Ariel University's ethics committee approved this study (Ariel-SOC-KL-20190109). The study is based on self-reports through an online survey via a Google drive platform from January 2019 to December 2021. Participants were recruited through social media postings on Facebook and WhatsApp that invited people to participate in a study on responses to terrorism and crime. Upon providing electronic informed consent to participate in the study, the participants were directed to complete the online questionnaire. The questionnaire stated that participation was anonymous and confidential, that the participants did not have to answer any question making them uncomfortable and could stop answering at any point, and that their answers serve only research purposes.

Data Analysis

Data were analyzed using SPSS ver. 28. Descriptive statistics were used for the participants’ demographic data, comparing women and men with t-tests, chi-square tests, and z-ratios for the significance of the difference between two independent proportions. Demographic differences in fear of terrorism were examined with t-tests and analyses of variance. Fear of rape was highly related with gender (r = 0.68 p < 0.001) and thus collinearity was evident (VIF = 2.98) when using both in a regression analysis. Therefore, all analyses were calculated separately by gender. Pearson correlations were calculated among the study variables by gender. The first hypothesis was examined with two multiple regression models, for women and men. The first step included background variables, the second, locus of control and coping strategies, and the third step, sense of insecurity and fear of rape. Collinearity was not found for women (highest VIF = 1.70), or for men (highest VIF = 2.11). The second hypothesis was examined with Hayes’ PROCESS model 4 for simple mediation with a continuous dependent variable (Hayes, 2022), using 5000 bootstrap samples and a 95% confidence interval. All continuous variables were standardized. Background variables, locus of control, and coping strategies were used as covariates.

Results

Descriptive Statistics

The overall level of fear of terrorism was relatively low (Mean = 1.04, S.D. = 0.80, Range = 0–4). The t-test results showed significant gender differences in fear of terrorism (t (752) = 7.86, p < 0.001, Cohen's d = 0.57), fear of rape (t (733.04) = 24.72, p < 0.001, Cohen's d = 0.67), and sense of insecurity (t (695.46) = 17.25, p < 0.001, Cohen's d = 0.52). Women reported higher levels of fear of terrorism (Mean = 1.25, S.D. = 0.81), fear rape (Mean = 2.31, S.D. = 0.90) and sense of insecurity (Mean = 1.57, S.D. = 0.95) than men (Mean = 0.81, S.D. = 0.73; Mean = 0.85, S.D. = 0.72; Mean = 0.56, S.D. = 0.66, correspondingly). A negative low correlation was found between age and fear of terrorism (r(752) = -0.10, p = 0.005). No difference was found between non-secular participants (traditional and religious) and secular (t (752) = 1.91, p = 0.056, Cohen's d = 0.137), or non-religious participants (traditional and secular) and religious (t (752) = 0.50, p = 0.620, Cohen's d = 0.037). Furthermore, fear of terrorism was not different by family status (single vs. not single) (t (752) = 0.98, p = 0.328, Cohen's d = 0.087), educational level (high-school vs. academic BA vs. academic MA or PhD) (F(2, 751) = 1.88, p = 0.153 η2 = 0.005), or past victimization (t (752) = 1.65, p = 0.098, Cohen's d = 0.211). In light of these results, age was controlled for in further analyses. In addition, due to its theoretical significance, past victimization was controlled for as well. As mentioned above, due to collinearity between gender and fear of rape, analyses were calculated separately by gender.

Results in Table 2 show that external locus of control (chance and fate, powerful others), and emotion-focused coping were positively related with sense of insecurity, fear of rape and fear of terrorism for both men and women. Likewise, sense of insecurity, fear of rape, and fear of terrorism were positively interrelated for both men and women. Younger age and past victimization were related to a higher fear of rape among women. As expected, internal locus of control was positively related to problem-focused coping, and external locus of control (chance and fate, powerful others) was positively related to emotion-focused coping.

Table 2 Correlations between the study variables (N = 754)
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Multiple regression models were calculated for fear of terrorism, separately by gender. The first step included the background variables of age and past victimization, the second, locus of control and coping strategies, and the third step, sense of insecurity and fear of rape (Table 3). Results show that both regression models are significant, with 41 and 54 percent of explained variance for men and women, respectively. Regarding women, higher belief in chance and fate, and powerful others (external LOC), higher sense of insecurity, and higher fear of rape were related to a higher fear of terrorism. Regarding men, higher belief in chance and fate (external LOC), higher sense of insecurity, and higher fear of rape were related to a higher fear of terrorism. The contribution of fear of rape to fear of terrorism was higher for men (β = 0.43, p < 0.001) than for women (β = 0.24, p < 0.001) (t(750) = 3.25, p = 0.001).

Table 3 Multiple regressions for fear of terrorism by gender (N = 754)
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To assess the mediating role of sense of insecurity in the relationship between fear of rape and fear of terrorism, two PROCESS models were calculated (Hayes, 2022). All continuous variables were standardized, and model 4 was used. Background variables (age and previous victimization), LOC, and emotion-focused and problem-focused coping strategies were used as covariates. The two indirect effects were found to be significant (Fig. 1): for men (effect = 0.24, SE = 0.05, 95% CI = 0.15, 0.34) and for women (effect = 0.20, SE = 0.03, 95% CI = 0.15, 0.27). Results show that higher fear of rape, for both men and women, were related to higher sense of insecurity, which was in turn related to higher fear of terrorism.

Fig. 1
figure 1

The mediating role of sense of insecurity in the relationship between fear of rape and fear of terrorism. Note: values on arrows: B(SE), values within rectangles: R2, C = total effect, C’ = direct effect. *p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001

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Discussion

This study’s main purpose was to investigate the models for predicting fear of terrorism, through indicators of fear of crime (fear of rape and sense of insecurity) and individual demographic and psychological characteristics. Our models show that the indicators of fear of crime contribute to predicting fear of terrorism. Specifically, the sense of insecurity mediated between fear of rape and fear of terrorism for men and women.

The key findings support the notion that the fear of crime indicators predict fear of terrorism, and correspond with the findings from previous studies that there are similarities between predictors of fear of terrorism and fear of crime (Shechory-Bitton & Cohen-Louck, 2018, 2020) and that fear of specific violent crimes predicts fear of other crimes (e.g., Cook & Fox, 2012; Riggs & Cook, 2015). In particular, the current research models reveal that the significant contribution of the sense of insecurity and fear of rape to the prediction of fear of terrorism for men as well as for women suggests that these factors are gender-unbiased. These results are intriguing in the context of the shadow theory (Ferraro, 1996), which claims that fear of rape affects and increases fear of other crimes only among women. Contrary to the claims that the shadow theory (Ferraro, 1996) is irrelevant to prediction of fear of terrorism since terrorism does not include the danger of sexual assault (e.g., Nellis, 2009), our findings show that fear of rape can predict fear of terrorism.

The relevance of the shadow theory (Ferraro, 1996) in explaining fear of terrorism is further supported by the findings that the sense of insecurity mediates the relationship between fear of rape and fear of terrorism for both men and women. This significant mediation supports our hypotheses, and clarifies the association between fear of rape and fear of terrorism. Thus, although terrorist acts do not include the danger of rape, the fear of rape increases the sense of insecurity, which in turn increases the fear of terrorism. It seems that a sense of insecurity represents a feeling of vulnerability which is associated to higher levels of fear of terrorism (Nellis, 2009; Onat et al., 2021). Thus, although prior (Chataway & Hart, 2019; Fox et al., 2009; May et al., 2010; Nellis, 2009) and current findings indicate that women report higher levels of fear of rape than men, contrary to our hypothesis, this study’s models show that fear of rape not only increases the sense of insecurity for both genders, but also has a stronger association with the sense of insecurity (and subsequently with fear of terrorism) for men than for women. Therefore, although rape is considered a female issue (McKimmie et al., 2014) and male rape usually receives less public and research interest (Levy & Adam, 2018), our findings suggest that there is an increased awareness that men can also become victims of rape (Bates et al., 2019). Perhaps due to this increasing awareness of male sexual victimization, the fear of rape has become a relevant fear not just for women, but for men as well.

This gender-unbiased association between fear of rape, sense of insecurity and fear of terrorism further expands the shadow theory. Although the shadow theory (Ferraro, 1996) aims to explain women’s fears of crime through fear of rape, our findings imply that the shadow mechanism is relevant for both genders. Thus, our findings imply that the shadow mechanism is not limited to the explanation of fear of crime and its effects are not limited to women. Therefore, we suggest considering a concept of a general shadow theory that entails a wider scope and claims that a fear of a specific crime (e.g., fear of rape) can generate a sense of insecurity, which, in turn, may increase other types of fears (e.g., fear of terrorism). Future research should explore whether the sense of insecurity also mediates the relationship between fear of rape and fear of other crimes and dangerous situations.

Contrary to fear of rape, some of aspects of LOC can be considered as gender-specific in predicting fear of terrorism. As hypothesized, the external aspects of LOC contributed to the fear of terrorism. This finding corresponds with the notion that terrorist acts are random and uncontrollable events (LaFree et al., 2015) and is consistent with the positive association between external LOC and adverse psychological reactions (Galvin et al., 2018). Nevertheless, the current study indicates that for women, fear of terrorism is predicted by both the belief in factors related to powerful others and the belief in factors related to chance and fate, whereas for men only the belief in factors related to chance and fate contributed to the prediction of fear of terrorism. This pattern implies a gender gap in perceptions of causality of terrorism related to victimization. It appears that in conjunction with the consistently random, indiscriminate nature of terrorism-related victimization (Spaaij & Hamm, 2015), men who attribute higher relevance to chance and fate report higher levels of fear of terrorism. Women, however, seem to perceive victimization due to terrorism not only as related to chance and fate, but also as an extension of power-imbalance which threatens the weaker members of society (Stanko, 1995). Such perceptions may be associated with stereotypical gender-role perceptions (Bates et al., 2019) and related gender self-stereotypes (Rudman & Goodwin, 2004). Future studies should explore the possibility of a gender gap in perception of terrorism and identify the association between such a gap and gender-role self-stereotypes.

As for coping strategies, contrary to our hypothesis, our models indicated that problem-focused and emotion-focused coping strategies did not contribute to predicting the fear of terrorism for both genders. This pattern contradicts some of the past research findings on coping, PTSD, and stress (Gil, 2005; Zeidner & Ben-Zur, 1994). Perhaps the preference of problem- and emotional-focused strategies did not contribute to the prediction of fear of terrorism due to the lack of variance in levels of fear of terrorism that were relatively low in the current sample. Such low levels of fear of terrorism among the participants are not surprising considering the notion that Israeli citizens go through a habitation process regarding terrorism, which tends to reduce fear of terrorism (see Braithwaite, 2013). Also, since the data was collected during the time period that coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, it is also possible that public fears were more focused on the new threat with its accompanying lockdowns and social distancing than on the threat of terrorism.

Limitations and Future Research

The current study is not without limitations. The sample size was sufficient, yet due to the convenience sampling method, the demographic characteristics of the participants do not represent Israeli society in regard to gender, ethnicity, marital status, and educational level. More than that, due to the self-reported nature of the data, the results may be influenced by social desirability (Van De Mortel, 2008). Therefore, the external validity of this study’s findings may be limited. Future studies should examine our findings using random and representative sampling techniques. Additionally, due to the cross-sectional nature of our data, further research is needed to understand the causal pathways between the fear of rape, sense of insecurity and fear of terrorism.

Future studies should also examine whether a sense of insecurity mediates between fear of crimes other than rape and fear of terrorism. In addition, future studies may identify which of the models included in Franklin et al.’s (2008) study is more effective in predicting fear of terrorism: disorder, vulnerability, or social integration. Moreover, attitudes and perceptions of crimes may change based on cultural context (Levy & Adam, 2018; Levy & Berenson, 2022; Levy & Kerschke-Risch, 2020; Levy & Rozmann, 2021; Rozmann & Levy, 2019) and levels of fear of terrorism may change by country (Shechory-Bitton & Shachaf Friedman, 2018). Therefore, future studies should consider examining our model among diverse populations including additional cultural contexts and in countries with higher levels of fear of terrorism or in times when the COVID-19 pandemic will not overshadow other fears.

Conclusions

This study presents a model for predicting fear of terrorism. According to our model, the sense of insecurity mediates between fear of rape and fear of terrorism. These findings explain the link between fear of rape and fear of terrorism through the sense of insecurity, and emphasizes that fear of rape is a relevant factor not just in predicting fears of other crimes, but also in predicting the fear of terrorism, and not only for women, but also for men. Thus, we suggest that future studies should examine fear of rape not as a women’s issue, but as a gender-unbiased issue. Moreover, these findings are significant from the theoretical and clinical points of view. From the theoretical standpoint, the current findings expand the scope of the shadow theory and support our concept of a general shadow theory. From the clinical standpoint, the findings signify that to manage fear of terrorism, the therapeutic process should aim to promote an individual sense of security and address fears of rape not just for women, but also for men. From a practical standpoint, this study emphasizes the significant role of a sense of security, and suggests that by investing in measures decreasing public fears of rape and increasing the sense of safety and security, policymakers may decrease fears of rape and also fears of terrorism. Such measures as CCTV (closed-circuit television), better lighting in neighborhoods, increasing the presence of a community watch and police, could be useful not only in decreasing fear and worry associated with rape, but also in decreasing fear and worry about terrorism.