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posted by martyb on Sunday October 16 2016, @08:53PM   Printer-friendly
from the The-only-thing-we-have-to-fear-is... dept.

Chapman University recently completed its third annual Chapman University Survey of American Fears (2016). The survey asked respondents about 65 fears across a broad range of categories including fears about the government, crime, the environment, the future, technology, health, natural disasters, as well as fears of public speaking, spiders, heights, ghosts and many other personal anxieties.

In addition to the set of fears examined in previous waves, the survey team took a closer look at two fear related phenomena: Americans' beliefs in conspiracy theories and fear of Muslims, sometimes referred to as "Islamophobia."

In its third year, the annual Chapman University Survey of American Fears included more than 1,500 adult participants from across the nation and all walks of life. The 2016 survey data is organized into five basic categories: personal fears, conspiracy theories, terrorism, natural disasters, paranormal fears, and fear of Muslims.

The 2016 survey shows that the top 10 things Americans fear the most are:

  • Corruption of government officials (same top fear as 2015)
  • Terrorist attacks
  • Not having enough money for the future
  • Being a victim of terror
  • Government restrictions on firearms and ammunition (new)
  • People I love dying
  • Economic or financial collapse
  • Identity theft
  • People I love becoming seriously ill
  • The Affordable Health Care Act/"Obamacare"

http://phys.org/news/2016-10-americans-annual-survey-american.html

A comprehensive list of the all the fears is available from The Chapman Survey on American Fears 2016.

A video is also available at: https://youtu.be/Rr0XAFbe8b8

Previously:
What Americans Fear Most (2014)


Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 2) by mhajicek on Sunday October 16 2016, @11:25PM

    by mhajicek (51) on Sunday October 16 2016, @11:25PM (#415007)

    Indeed. Fear and "expectation of bad thing" are not synonymous. I once had a boss bigger and stronger than me loose his temper, stand up huffing and puffing, and threaten to knock my block off. I figured it was pretty likely that if I pressed the issue we were arguing about he would have actually attacked me, so I walked out. When attempting to file a police report though I made the mistake of saying that I wasn't afraid. The cop said that if I wasn't afraid it wasn't illegal.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 17 2016, @01:21AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 17 2016, @01:21AM (#415041)

    I once had a boss bigger and stronger than me loose his temper,

    WOW! You should have been afraid! Just think what could have happened if you had not walked away! The Boss might have tightened his temper, and then there would have been hell to pay! So, did you loose your job, two?

  • (Score: 2) by VLM on Monday October 17 2016, @12:12PM

    by VLM (445) Subscriber Badge on Monday October 17 2016, @12:12PM (#415175)

    The cop said that if I wasn't afraid it wasn't illegal.

    Well, there's cop law and then there's the actual law.

    If the cop wanted to, boss would have gotten a generic "disturbing the peace". Even if the bystanders are all laughing, those are legit.

    Its possible if you were demanding a very specific charge then that very specific charge or a very specific type of restraining order in your area requires admission of fear, so the cops like, "ya gotta work with me here buddy".

    Probably better off going to a lawyer anyway. There's plenty of problems that can be resolved in civil court whereas the cops are mostly interested in criminal court.