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Ten Things Americans Fear Most (Hint: Russia Doesn't Even Make the List)

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A detailed survey conducted by a respectable American university to find out what it is that Americans fear most has made some surprising revelations, finding that government corruption, cyber-attacks, corporate snooping and terrorism are the things ordinary Americans fear most, even while political leaders may attempt to convince them otherwise.

The study, conducted by Chapman University, carried out a detailed survey of the attitudes of 1,500 adults from across the country in search of what it is that ordinary Americans fear most.

To anyone who has been listening to US state and military officials over the past couple of years, the results of the survey may be surprising, at least to many Russian observers. 

While the Obama administration famously heaped Russia in along with Ebola and ISIL as the country's greatest international threats, with top Pentagon generals hysterically characterizing Russia as an "existential threat," it turns out that as far as ordinary Americans are concerned, Russia doesn't even appear to be on anyone's radar.

© Chapman UniversityAmericans' Top Ten Fears of 2015, according to Chapman University.
Americans' Top Ten Fears of 2015, according to Chapman University. - Sputnik International
Americans' Top Ten Fears of 2015, according to Chapman University.

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Chapman University's second annual Survey of American Fears found that Americans' top fears –that is, those over which "the highest percentage of Americans reported being "Afraid," or "Very Afraid," include government corruption (58%), cyber-terrorism (44.8%), and corporate tracking of personal information (44.6%).

Moreover, 44.4% of Americans fear terrorist attacks, 41.4% fear the government tracking their personal information, and 40.9% are afraid of the danger of bio-warfare.

The top ten list is rounded out by economic fears, with 39.6% afraid of identity theft, 39.2% fearing economic collapse, 37.4% dreading running out of money, and 36.9% afraid of credit card fraud.

Professor Christopher Bader, the study's head, explained that the top three threats signified a "kind of hand-wringing trifecta" of "conniving, colluding and cheating" government and corporate leaders.

"The 2015 survey data shows us the top fears are heavily based on economic and 'big brother' type issues," the professor noted. "People often fear what they cannot control, and technology and the future of our economy are two aspects of life that Americans find very unpredictable at the moment."

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And while the survey does not explicitly list Americans' fears of dangers emanating from any one nation, the categories of 'war' and 'nuclear attack', under which the threat of Russia might fall, did not make it into the top ten, with 35.8% and 33.6% of Americans, respectively, "Afraid" or "Very Afraid" of these eventualities.

In total, the comprehensive survey, which also collected extensive background information about respondents in order to examine how fears vary by different groups, examined 88 fears from categories ranging from government, crime, the environment, the future, technology, aging, sickness & health, natural & man-made disasters, and personal anxieties.

The comprehensive list of Americans' fears can be found here.

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