The Earl Babbie Research Center at Chapman University, in Orange, Calif., has been running an annual survey of Americans' top worries since 2015. They recently released a summary of their 2023 results.
Wave 9 was conducted in the spring of 2023 by asking a random sample of 1,014 adults across the United States about ninety-seven different fears ranging from topics about the environment, government, the economy, war, natural disasters, and many more.
The recent Chapman summary emphasizes the "top ten" fears and the changes in their salience to the surveyed population. One piece of good news:
It appears that in general, Americans are actually feeling less scared this year.
In the 2020/21 survey, the number 1 fear (corrupt government officials) held 79.6% of respondents ‘afraid’ or ‘very afraid,’ and only the number 10 fear had a percentage lower than 50%. In 2022, the number 1 fear (see above) dropped more than 10% but every fear in the top 10 was above 50% with two being above 60%. This year, only the number 1 fear (see above) was above 60%, but just barely. Besides the number 1 fear, no other fear in this year’s top 10 garnered above 55% and numbers 7-10 were at 50% or below. This trend points to an overall decrease in the average American’s likelihood of being ‘afraid’ or ‘very afraid’ of the topics included in the top 10 fears.
Also made available online by Chapman researchers was a PDF alphabetically listing all 97 of the fears they surveyed, with the percentage of respondents "afraid" or "very afraid" of each. It was interesting to spend a little time with the complete list, and suggestive in a few dimensions.
(I couldn't figure out how to link directly to the PDF, but to find it, please search for "The Chapman Survey of American Fears, Wave 9 The Complete List of Fears, 2023".)
Bearing in mind that that was a small survey -- and I didn't find full details on survey methodology, how the surveyed fears were chosen for the list, or statistical confidence level -- still it also seems like a potentially useful resource for public communicators working to connect with audiences, and voters.
Here are a handful things that caught my eye. I've highlighted selected items to foster discussion.
More than 50% of those surveyed reported they were afraid or very afraid of (I've rounded to the nearest digit).
60%: Corrupt government officials
55%: Economic/financial collapse
53%: Russia using nuclear weapons
52%: The U.S. becoming involved in another world war
50%: People I love becoming seriously ill
50%: Biological warfare
50%: People I love dying
50%: Pollution of drinking water
Half or more is a lot.
What struck my eye first is how many of these are huge national and global matters about which the average person knows full well they have very limited information and even less control.
By far the top personal disasters feared were the sickness or death of those we love. People feared their own sickness or death much less on the average, which seems to testify to a basic goodness -- despite everything -- in human nature.
Lack of information in the face of hazard is inherently scary. And if we feel we can't trust those in the know, it's even scarier. From 2017 into 2021, this nation saw its chief executive and his acolytes tell thousands upon thousands of staring lies, twist and stomp on norms, and he is now under indictment for trying to overturn democracy. He's also now trying to get back into power. Plenty of cause to fear government corruption. Meanwhile his supporters, spreading denial about that, have projected his and their own corruption on the current President. No wonder the fear of corruption is so salient, undoubtedly on either side of the political spectrum.
What's encouraging is that under President Biden's stabilizing administration, that fear level dropped sharply in just the last year.
From 40 to 49% afraid or very afraid:
49%: Cyber-terrorism
48%: Not having enough money for the future
48%: Pollution of oceans, rivers and lakes
48%: North Korea using nuclear weapons
46%: China spying on the U.S.
45%: Terrorist attack
45%: Military conflict between the United States and China
45%: Iran using nuclear weapons
44%: The collapse of the electric grid
44%: Global warming and climate change
44%: Government tracking of personal data
44%: China stealing U.S. technology
43%: Extinction of plant and animal species
43%: The outcome of the next presidential election
42%: Random/mass shooting
42%: High medical bills
41%: Air pollution
41%: Widespread civil unrest
41%: China's influence in the world reducing U.S. power abroad
40%: Nuclear accident/meltdown
40%: China's economy overtaking the U.S. economy
Again, it is so striking that these are mostly huge geopolitical issues. There's a lot about China. Probably, people who reported fear of China in one response did so on more than one -- not that separate groups of people were scared of China in specific dimensions. In other words, most probably about 41% to 45% of Americans are seriously worried about China.
Top two personal fears, after the sickness or death of those we love, are running out of money in the long term, and high medical bills (which can easily contribute to running out of money in the long term). Damn, that sure sounds like a bugle call. Imagine a world where average people wouldn't be as scared for their personal future as that. Thank you, Democrats, that it isn't worse.
Afraid or very afraid of other personal impacts:
39%: Identity theft
37%: Being hit by a drunk driver
35%: Becoming seriously ill
35%: Credit card fraud
34%: Not having enough money to pay my rent or mortgage
33%: Climate change impacting where I live
33%: Devastating natural disaster where I live
33%: New pandemic or a major epidemic
30%: Break-ins
29%: Theft of property
27%: Gang violence
26%: Dying
26%: Murder by a stranger
26%: Sexual assault by a stranger
25%: Mugging
25%: Being unemployed
25%: Walking alone at night
25%: Financial fraud (embezzlement, Ponzi scheme, etc.)
22%: Abduction/kidnapping
20%: Sexual assault by someone you know
20%: Stalking
18%: Murder by someone you know
16%: Catching the coronavirus (COVID-19)
15%: Not being able to pay off college debt (self or family)
12%: Catching influenza (seasonal flu)
See how much less people generally worry about their own fate, compared with others dear to them? Wow.
Not surprising, fear or rape or murder by a stranger is higher than fear of rape or murder by someone you know. Unrealistic in fact. But typical of people, perhaps influenced by entertainment media.
Overall, which of these threat levels are more and which less realistic, I don't know; but in public communication, you have to start with where people are. Perceptions matter.
One tweak I would have suggested for this survey would be to break out the fears specifically of stalking and rape between the genders. There are times when averaging can wash out details essential to understanding. (Same in medical research.) Perhaps they did break it out by genders in the full study, which I haven't seen.
Afraid or very afraid regarding other political hot buttons:
37%: White supremacists
34%: Government restrictions on firearms and ammunition
30%: Illegal immigration
30%: Widespread voter fraud
28%: Police brutality
28%: Left wing extremists
27%: Racial/hate crime
27%: The Proud Boys
27%: Government use of drones within the U.S.
20%: Antifa
13%: Black Lives Matter (BLM)
12%: Whites no longer being the majority in the U.S.
9%: Immigrants
8%: Muslims
So interesting. Look at that, more people are scared by white supremacists than by any right-wing-promoted bugbear! Fear of police brutality is up there with fraudulent right-wing fears of "left-wing extremists," "illegal immigration," and "widespread voter fraud" (all of which are probably feared by one set of people answering yes to all three) despite all the tub-thumping for the past eight years.
People in general aren't scared of immigrants! They're not scared of Muslims! The vast majority of white people aren't worried about being "replaced." They're barely scared of BLM. But some are still scared of Antifa ??? Which barely even exists?
Afraid or very afraid of selected odds and ends:
32%: Computers replacing people in the workforce
29%: Public speaking
17%: Technology that I don't understand
10%: Ghosts
Technology is making a fair number of people nervous in different ways: another global phenomenon, where the average person knows they have relatively little information and minimal power, and many are worried about negative impact (most of all cyberterrorism and cybercrime, see above), some about failing to keep up with what is indeed both a marathon and a sprint toward the next thing and the next.
It's too bad about public speaking. Kids should get training and practice in school or elsewhere. So important to feel okay about speaking up, for example, in a public hearing.
This diary doesn't cover the full list of fears, so do please get the PDF if interested.
I feel like I could suggest some other fears that might be useful to include in the survey, for instance one that's on my mind since our mother's death a lot, and I suspect it's on a lot of other people's, dementia.
If you've read this far, do please make any suggestions that occur, if you like.
Footnote: Earl Babbie, after whom the Chapman University research center is named.