What is America scared of? Political corruption beats terror attacks and money troubles to top poll

• Researchers surveyed over 1,500 Americans from across the country
• Top fears are government corruption, terrorist attacks, and money trouble
• Also looked at belief in conspiracy theories, finding 'a degree of paranoia'
• The survey also revealed 'disturbing' insight on Islamophobia in the US 
• And, they found two-thirds of people believe in 'something paranormal'

Clowns and spiders may send an occasional chill down your spine, but according to a new study, Americans are more plagued by the thought of Obamacare, gun control, and government corruption.

More than 1,500 adults were asked to rank 79 fears from a wide range of categories, including both man-made and natural disasters, the future, and health.

The results reflect the idea that people fear what they cannot control, with government issues and terrorism topping the list, and reveal that the US is a ‘strongly conspiratorial society’ as many responses exhibited ‘a degree of paranoia.’

Clowns and spiders may send an occasional chill down your spine, but according to a new study, Americans are more plagued by the thought of Obamacare, gun control, and government corruption

TOP 10 FEARS IN THE US

1. Corruption of government officials
2. Terrorist attack on the nation
3. Inadequate funds for the future
4. Victim of terrorism
5. Gun control
6. Loved ones dying
7. Economic/ financial collapse
8. Identity theft
9. Loved ones seriously ill
10. Affordable Health Care Act/ Obamacare  

In the annual Chapman University Survey of American Fears, researchers recruited a random sample of 1,511 English-speaking Americans over the age of 18 from across the country.

Participants were asked to indicate their level of fear on numerous examples across 11 major domains.

These were: crime, personal fears, immigration/demographic changes, environment, relationships, technology, natural disasters, illness and death, economic, man-made disasters, and government.

The researchers also examined belief in conspiracy theories and Islamophobia, revealing ‘disturbing’ levels of distrust for Muslims among the American population

Responses showed that people in the US are most concerned about ‘corruption of government officials,’ with 60.6 percent of the group responding that they are either ‘afraid’ or ‘very afraid’ of this phenomenon.

According to the researchers, this same fear was also number one last year.

The top ten list also includes terrorist attacks on the nation (41 percent) and inadequate funds for the future (39.9 percent).

An equal percentage of respondents reported that they were either afraid or very afraid of being the victim or terrorism and gun control, with both of these categories receiving 38.5 percent.

This was followed by the fear of loved ones dying (38.1 percent), economic/financial collapse (35.5 percent), identify theft (37.1 percent), loved ones seriously ill (35.9 percent), and the Affordable Health Care Act (35.5).

Participants were asked to indicate their level of fear from examples across 11 domains: crime, personal fears, immigration/demographic changes, environment, relationships, technology, natural disasters, illness and death, economic, man-made disasters, and government

WHAT AMERICANS FEAR THE MOST 

1. Corrupt government officials

2. Terrorist Attack Manmade Disasters

3. Not having enough money for the future

4. Terrorism

5. Government restrictions on firearms and ammunition

6. People I love dying

7. Economic/financial collapse

8. Identity theft

9. People I love becoming seriously ill

10. The Affordable Health Care Act/Obamacare

11. Credit card fraud

12. Biological warfare

13. Reptiles

14. Government tracking of personal data

15. High medical bills

16. The US will be involved in another World War

17. Global warming and climate change

18. Nuclear weapons attack

19. Cyber-terrorism

20. Being hit by a drunk driver

21. Pollution of oceans, rivers and lakes

22. Devastating tornado

23. Pandemic or a major epidemic

24. Corporate tracking of personal data

25. Extinction of plant and animal species

26. Pollution of drinking water

27. Break-ins

28. Widespread civil unrest

29. Nuclear accident/meltdown

30. Random/mass shooting

31. Oil spills

32. Collapse of the electrical grid

33. Public speaking

34. Theft of property

35. Losing my data, photos or other important documents in a disaster

36. Insects/arachnids

37. Becoming unemployed

38. Heights

39. Devastating drought

40. Illegal immigration

 41. Devastating hurricane

42. Devastating earthquake

43. Devastating flood

44. Murder by a stranger

45. Devastating blizzard/winter storm

46. Government use of drones within the US

47. Financial fraud (such as a Ponzi scheme, embezzlement, etc.)

48. Sexual assault by a stranger

49. Mugging

50. Gang violence

51. Walking alone at night

52. Deep lakes and oceans

53. Air Pollution

54. Becoming seriously ill

55. Racial/hate crime

56. Police brutality

57. Abduction/kidnapping

58. Becoming the victim of a violent crim

59. Dying

60. Becoming the victim of a property crime

61. Sexual assault by someone you know

62. Whites no longer being the majority in the US

63. Murder by someone you know

64. Stalking

65. Small enclosed spaces

66. Needles

67. Computers replacing people in the workforce

68. Technology I don’t understand

69. Large volcanic eruption

70. Germs

71. Flying

72. Blood

73. Animals (dogs, rats, etc).

74. Significant other cheating on you

75. Zombies

76. Strangers

77. Ghosts

78. Clowns

79. Others talking about you behind your back

‘The 2016 survey data shows us the top fears have shifted from last year’s, which were heavily based in economic and ‘big brother’ type issues to include more health and financial fears this year,’ said Christopher Bader, PhD, professor of sociology at Chapman University, who led the team effort.

‘People often fear what they cannot control, and we find continued evidence of that in our top fears.’

The researchers also investigated belief in conspiracy theories, and participants were asked about their beliefs on nine different popular topics, including the JFK assassination, Barack Obama’s birth certificate, alien encounters, the moon landings, and the 9/11 attacks.

Their responses suggest the United States is rife with conspiracy theorists – and those most likely to fall within this category were employed, low-income Republicans with lower levels of education, who were likely to be Catholic or a Christian denomination, but rarely attend religious services.

The researchers also investigated belief in conspiracy theories, and participants were asked about their beliefs on nine different popular topics, including the JFK assassination, Barack Obama’s birth certificate, alien encounters, the moon landings, and the 9/11 attacks

Beliefs in the paranormal were brought to light in the survey, as researchers found that more Americans now believe in supernatural phenomena than last year. Overall,  two-thirds of Americans believe in ‘something paranormal’

‘We found clear evidence that the United States is a strongly conspiratorial society,’ said Dr Bader.

‘We see a degree of paranoia in the responses. 

'Most indicative is nearly one-third of respondents believed the government is concealing information about ‘the North Dakota crash,’ a theory we asked about that – to our knowledge – we made up,' the researcher continued.

‘Conspiracy theorists tend to be more pessimistic about the near future, fearful of government, less trusting of other people in their lives and more likely to engage in actions due to their fears, such as purchasing a gun.’

STUDY REVEALS  'DISTURBING' TREND OF ISLAMOPHOBIA

The 2016 Chapman University Survey of American Fears has revealed troubling new insight on the rise of Islamophobia.

According to the researchers, nearly half of American respondents said they would not be comfortable with a Mosque being built in the neighbourhood.

Along with this, one-third reported that Muslims are more likely to engage in terrorism, and agreed that the US should put a stop to immigration from Muslim nations.

The survey revealed ‘disturbing’ levels of distrust for Muslims among the American population, according to the researchers

The researchers say these beliefs varied dramatically based on the participant’s origins within the country.

People living in urban areas were less likely to distrust Muslims or support institutionalized discrimination, they found, and men were more likely to hold anti-Muslim opinions than women.

Along with this, they found that white Americans had much higher levels of Islamophobia than non-whites, and that Republicans were far more likely to have anti-Muslim views than Democrats, while Independents fell in the middle.

People living in urban areas were less likely to distrust Muslims or support institutionalized discrimination, they found, and men were more likely to hold anti-Muslim opinions than women

‘For a nation that touts its commitment to religious liberty, the prevalence of these beliefs should be disturbing,’ said Ed Day, PhD, chair of the department of sociology at Chapman University and one of the three researchers on the survey.

According to the researcher, the results ‘show significant portions of the US population distrust Muslims and believe the nation is justified in singling out one religious tradition for increased law enforcement scrutiny.

‘Those with Islamophobic views are more likely to be rural, male, white, older, and lacking a college education. However, the survey data do not allow us to dig deeply into the sources of anti-Muslim prejudice. Regardless of the sources, the prevalence of anti-Muslim sentiment is a concern.’ 

Beliefs in the paranormal were also brought to light in the survey, as researchers found that more Americans now believe in supernatural phenomena than last year.

Participants were asked about a number of beliefs, including Bigfoot, psychic powers, haunted houses, and alien visits.

More than half of the respondents reported that they believe places can be haunted by spirits, while only 13 percent believed in the existence of Bigfoot.

Overall, however, the researchers say two-thirds of Americans believe in ‘something paranormal.’

And, those most likely to have such ideas were religious, being either Catholic, Protestant, just Christian, or a non-Catholic religion, attend church infrequently, and have a low income and low education status.

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3837028/What-America-scared-Political-corruption-beats-terror-attacks-money-troubles-poll.html