A total of 840 subjects from universities in Australia, England, France, Germany and The Netherlands completed a questionnaire during the months following the Chernobyl accident. Items included measures of political decision-making style, nuclear attitudes, reactions to Chernobyl and general political orientation. Decision-making style and the favourability/ unfavourability of nuclear attitudes were relatively independent of each other. However, those who described themselves as more informed and interested in nuclear issues, and as having paid more attention to, and having been more frightened by, the news of Chernobyl, scored lower on the style of ‘defensive avoidance’ but higher on that of ‘self-esteem/vigilance’. Reactions to Chernobyl were strongly related to attitudes on other nuclear issues defined within specific national contexts, and more conservative or right-wing political preferences were predictive of greater support for nuclear power.