America’s Top Fears 2016
Chapman University Survey of American Fears
The Chapman University Survey of American Fears Wave 3 (2016) provides an unprecedented look into the fears of average Americans. In April of 2016, a random sample of 1,511 adults from across the United States were asked their level of fear about 79 different fears across a huge variety of topics ranging from crime, the government, disasters, personal anxieties, technology and many others.
Domains of Fear
There were 10 major “domains” of fear addressed by the survey, including:
| Fear Domain | Types of Questions Included |
| Crime | Murder, rape, theft, burglary, fraud, identity theft |
| Economic | Not having enough money for the future, becoming unemployed, etc. |
| Environment | Global warming, overpopulation, pollution |
| Government | Government corruption, Obamacare, drones, gun control, etc. |
| Illness and Death | High medical bills, becoming ill, dying |
| Immigration/Demographic Changes | Illegal immigration, whites no longer being majority in US |
| Man-Made Disasters | Bio-warfare, terrorism, nuclear attacks |
| Natural Disasters | Earthquakes, droughts, floods, hurricanes |
| Personal Fears | Tight spaces, public speaking, clowns, vaccines |
| Relationships | Significant other cheating, others talking about you behind your back |
| Technology | Artificial intelligence, robots, cyber-terrorism |
Top 10 Fears of 2016
Below is a list of the 10 fears for which the highest percentage of Americans reported being “Afraid,” or “Very Afraid.”
| Fear | Fear Domain | % Afraid or Very Afraid |
| Corrupt government officials | Government | 60.6 |
| Terrorist Attack | Manmade Disasters | 41 |
| Not having enough money for the future | Economic | 39.9 |
| Terrorism | Crime | 38.5 |
| Government restrictions on firearms and ammunition | Government | 38.5 |
| People I love dying | Illness and Death | 38.1 |
| Economic/financial collapse | Economic | 37.5 |
| Identity theft | Crime | 37.1 |
| People I love becoming seriously ill | Illness and Death | 35.9 |
| The Affordable Health Care Act/Obamacare | Government | 35.5 |
Full survey here…
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