Exploring the Relationship Between Terror Threat Perceptions and Coping Strategies:A Post-26/11 Assessment

Terror attack posits unique dissonance to human conscience, which is expressed in cognitive and emotive framework. The objective of the research is of two folds: Firstly, to examine as to how human being construe perception of terror threats in its cognitive and emotive framework. Secondly, indirectly inflicted by terror threats, how does human being deploys various coping strategies? The author used exploratory factor analysis and subsequently, covariance based structural equation modeling for confirmatory assessment of the framework. To examine various coping strategies, the author utilized component-based structural equation modeling or PLS path modeling approach. The author successfully identified four underlying dimensions, which represents cognitive and emotional framework in line with Shiloh et al. (2007). However, emotional factor did not appear as it was expected. Secondly, cognitive terror perception potentially produces wide range of coping strategies, such as wishful thinking, detachment. Terror research in Indian context is still nascent and hardly represented in academic journals. This research prepares the ground for further critical discourse, which will enable practitioners to extend professional services in tune with emotional status of individuals.