LAUSR

Terrorism attacks victims directly and generates fear and unrest in members wider society, the indirectly impacted citizens (IICs). Such attacks potentially generate a ‘need for revenge’ (NFR) in IICs, which can manifest on both personal and political levels. Whilst feeling the NFR does not equate to taking action, experiencing such need can have negative effects. Terrorism can generate large numbers of IICs and the responses of this under studied group warrant investigation. This study explores whether the 2016 Brussels terrorist incidents generated a need for personal and/or political revenge in citizens who were geographically, and presumably emotionally, close to them. 145 inhabitants of Leuven (Belgium) were engaged via a semi two-stage cluster sample and completed a survey. Findings indicate the need for personal revenge is less widespread than that for political revenge. The extent of needing revenge appears to be unrelated to the overall degree of being affected by terrorist incidents. Closer examination of the specific items reveals an increased need for both types of revenge is related to having a changed world view and altering everyday activities to avoid future victimization.