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 11 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

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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

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The Complete List of Fears, 2016

The following is a complete, list of all of the fears addressed by the Chapman University Survey of American Fears Wave 3 (2016), including the percent of Americans who reported being afraid or very afraid.

Sorted by Percent Afraid/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
Credit card fraud Crime 35.5
Biological warfare Manmade Disasters 34.8
Reptiles Personal Fears 33.2
Government tracking of personal data Technology 33.1
High medical bills Illness and Death 33.1
The US will be involved in another World War Manmade Disasters 32.3
Global warming and climate change Environment 32.3
Nuclear weapons attack Manmade Disasters 31.5
Cyber-terrorism Technology 30.7
Being hit by a drunk driver Crime 30.4
Pollution of oceans, rivers and lakes Environment 30
Devastating tornado Natural Disasters 29.7
Pandemic or a major epidemic Manmade Disasters 29.3
Corporate tracking of personal data Technology 28.7
Extinction of plant and animal species Environment 27.9
Pollution of drinking water Environment 27.9
Break-ins Crime 27.6
Widespread civil unrest Manmade Disasters 27.6
Nuclear accident/meltdown Manmade Disasters 27.5
Random/mass shooting Crime 26.9
Oil spills Environment 26.8
Collapse of the electrical grid Manmade Disasters 26.2
Public speaking Personal Fears 25.9
Theft of property Crime 25.5
Losing my data, photos or other important documents in a disaster Natural Disasters 25.2
Insects/arachnids Personal Fears 25
Becoming unemployed Economic 24.6
Heights Personal Fears 24.5
Devastating drought Natural Disasters 23.9
Illegal immigration Immigration/Demographic change 23.8
Devastating hurricane Natural Disasters 23.3
Devastating earthquake Natural Disasters 22.7
Devastating flood Natural Disasters 22.2
Murder by a stranger Crime 21.9
Devastating blizzard/winter storm Natural Disasters 21.8
Government use of drones within the US Government 21.7
Financial fraud (such as a Ponzi scheme, embezzlement, etc.) Crime 21.5
Sexual assault by a stranger Crime 21.5
Mugging Crime 21.3
Gang violence Crime 21.1
Walking alone at night Crime 21.1
Deep lakes and oceans Personal Fears 20.8
Air Pollution Environment 20.7
Becoming seriously ill Illness and Death 20.3
Racial/hate crime Crime 19.9
Police brutality Crime 19.6
Abduction/kidnapping Crime 19.5
Becoming the victim of a violent crime Crime 19.4
Dying Illness and Death 19
Becoming the victim of a property crime Crime 18.6
Sexual assault by someone you know Crime 18.1
Whites no longer being the majority in the US Immigration/Demographic change 17.9
Murder by someone you know Crime 17.5
Stalking Crime 17.4
Small enclosed spaces Personal Fears 16.8
Needles Personal Fears 16.7
Computers replacing people in the workforce Technology 16.6
Technology I don’t understand Technology 15.7
Large volcanic eruption Natural Disasters 15
Germs Personal Fears 14.9
Flying Personal Fears 12.1
Blood Personal Fears 11.7
Animals (dogs, rats, etc). Personal Fears 10.9
Significant other cheating on you Relationships 10.2
Zombies Personal Fears 10.2
Strangers Personal Fears 9.8
Ghosts Personal Fears 8.9
Clowns Personal Fears 7.8
Others talking about you behind your back Relationships 6.8

 


Sorted Alphabetically

 

Fear Fear Domain % Afraid or Very Afraid
Abduction/kidnapping Crime 19.5
Air Pollution Environment 20.7
Animals (dogs, rats, etc). Personal Fears 10.9
Becoming seriously ill Illness and Death 20.3
Becoming the victim of a property crime Crime 18.6
Becoming the victim of a violent crime Crime 19.4
Becoming unemployed Economic 24.6
Being hit by a drunk driver Crime 30.4
Biological warfare Manmade Disasters 34.8
Blood Personal Fears 11.7
Break-ins Crime 27.6
Clowns Personal Fears 7.8
Collapse of the electrical grid Manmade Disasters 26.2
Computers replacing people in the workforce Technology 16.6
Corporate tracking of personal data Technology 28.7
Corrupt government officials Government 60.6
Credit card fraud Crime 35.5
Cyber-terrorism Technology 30.7
Deep lakes and oceans Personal Fears 20.8
Devastating blizzard/winter storm Natural Disasters 21.8
Devastating drought Natural Disasters 23.9
Devastating earthquake Natural Disasters 22.7
Devastating flood Natural Disasters 22.2
Devastating hurricane Natural Disasters 23.3
Devastating tornado Natural Disasters 29.7
Dying Illness and Death 19
Economic/financial collapse Economic 37.5
Extinction of plant and animal species Environment 27.9
Financial fraud (such as a Ponzi scheme, embezzlement, etc.) Crime 21.5
Flying Personal Fears 12.1
Gang violence Crime 21.1
Germs Personal Fears 14.9
Ghosts Personal Fears 8.9
Global warming and climate change Environment 32.3
Government restrictions on firearms and ammunition Government 38.5
Government tracking of personal data Technology 33.1
Government use of drones within the US Government 21.7
Heights Personal Fears 24.5
High medical bills Illness and Death 33.1
Identity theft Crime 37.1
Illegal immigration Immigration/Demographic change 23.8
Insects/arachnids Personal Fears 25
Large volcanic eruption Natural Disasters 15
Losing my data, photos or other important documents in a disaster Natural Disasters 25.2
Mugging Crime 21.3
Murder by a stranger Crime 21.9
Murder by someone you know Crime 17.5
Needles Personal Fears 16.7
Not having enough money for the future Economic 39.9
Nuclear accident/meltdown Manmade Disasters 27.5
Nuclear weapons attack Manmade Disasters 31.5
Oil spills Environment 26.8
Others talking about you behind your back Relationships 6.8
Pandemic or a major epidemic Manmade Disasters 29.3
People I love becoming seriously ill Illness and Death 35.9
People I love dying Illness and Death 38.1
Police brutality Crime 19.6
Pollution of drinking water Environment 27.9
Pollution of oceans, rivers and lakes Environment 30
Public speaking Personal Fears 25.9
Racial/hate crime Crime 19.9
Random/mass shooting Crime 26.9
Reptiles Personal Fears 33.2
Sexual assault by a stranger Crime 21.5
Sexual assault by someone you know Crime 18.1
Significant other cheating on you Relationships 10.2
Small enclosed spaces Personal Fears 16.8
Stalking Crime 17.4
Strangers Personal Fears 9.8
Technology I don’t understand Technology 15.7
Terrorism Crime 38.5
Terrorist Attack Manmade Disasters 41
The Affordable Health Care Act/Obamacare Government 35.5
The US will be involved in another World War Manmade Disasters 32.3
Theft of property Crime 25.5
Walking alone at night Crime 21.1
Whites no longer being the majority in the US Immigration/Demographic change 17.9
Widespread civil unrest Manmade Disasters 27.6
Zombies Personal Fears 10.2