WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF?

Government Corruption Tops Survey of American Fears

Chapman University collected data on what Americans are most afraid of.

Chapman University on Tuesday released its findings from a survey on American fears. The survey asked 1,190 adults throughout the country to rank their level of fear about 94 different phenomena including crime, the government, the environment, disasters, personal anxieties, technology, and many others. Corrupt government officials topped the list, with 73.6 percent of respondents listing “afraid” or “very afraid.” The university noted this is the fourth year in a row that Americans have said political corruption scares them the most. Pollution of oceans, rivers, and lakes; pollution of drinking water; not having enough money for the future; and “people I love becoming seriously ill” followed to round out the top five. Chapman also highlighted the data the school has collected since President Trump entered office. Americans have shown increasing fears about the environment. The report stated, “Not a single environmental concern made the top 10 list in 2016. In 2017, four of the top ten fears were related to the environment. By 2018, five of the top ten fears were environmental in nature.” Overall, the university’s data indicated fear in general is on the rise.