National Fear Survey results

Science Week 2007 is over and the results of the National Project, the National Fear Survey are in! There were 6639 individual survey registrations up until the end of Science Week (18-26 August 2007). In terms of our general anxiety, 42% of respondents said they or someone in their immediate family suffers from anxiety or phobias, 29% regularly watch scary videos and 29% have trouble sleeping. On the more relaxed side, 61% take regular exercise and 12% regularly meditate.

And our biggest fear is...

Image: iStockphoto

Sharks Duh da duh da...Yes, it’s Jaws! Fear of sharks was the biggest fear registered in the survey (part 2, specific fears). Should we be worried? In the last 20 years there has been on average 1.3 fatal shark attacks per year in Australia (NSW government website). That’s one-third as many people as those killed by bee stings each year, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics! In terms of overall fears (moderately scared, very scared or wobbling like jelly), fear of sharks is closely followed by fear of snakes and fear of heights. Heights had the most people wobbling like jelly (highest number of ‘wobbling like jelly’ ratings), followed by sharks and snakes. The fear that bothers us least as individuals is the fear of blood. Other fears that score low are dogs, disease and dentists.

National Fear Survey: Specific fears

In differentiating between the sexes, the big news is ... there isn’t any difference. Males and females are equally afraid of sharks, heights and snakes in that order.

In terms of age, kids aged under 10s’ worst fear are snakes, while the tweens, 10-15s, pumped for sharks as the scariest personal fear. For all of those over the giddy age of 16, fear of heights causes the most wobblies, while all age groups laugh in the face of exposure to bloody knees (though the image used in the survey may have something to do with this!). Over 60s show little fear of death or surgery in comparison to other age groups, but admit that sharks and snakes give them the willies, too.

Surprisingly, people who identified themselves as religious (39% of respondents) rated death, natural disasters and ghosts as more scary than those participants who are not religious.

Terrified of climate change?

Our biggest global concern (part four of the survey) is the environment, closely followed by climate change. The third biggest global worry is cancer. Next comes war and drought followed by world poverty. Terrorism rated sixth in terms of world concerns with one-third as many registered concerns as climate change and the environment combined.

Malaria and volcanoes were the two least cited concerns.

There was little difference in the global concerns of those in rural, coastal or urban areas. By far the biggest concerns for all groups are climate change and the environment, and urban-dwellers are just as concerned as those in the bush about bushfire and drought.

National Fear Survey: World concerns

Losing it

Our most frequent day-to-day concern (part three of the survey) is losing control, followed by speaking in front of strangers. Other frequent concerns included encountering pest animals, doing exams, and being out in strong winds!

Things that rarely if ever cause us concern are texting, standing on an escalator, and standing in a queue.

Generally, people who regularly watch scary videos recorded more frequent anxieties than those who don’t, as did those survey respondents who took (non-prescription) drugs. Horror film habitués were four times more likely to be constantly concerned about leaving the house, and 1.5 times more likely to be concerned about getting to sleep.

Another interesting result was that people who said they did regular exercise were fractionally more worried about having a heart attack or brain tumour than those who didn’t. Those few who admitted to heavy drinking were almost half as likely as teetotallers to be concerned about heart attack or brain tumour, but equally likely to be constantly or often concerned about disease.

Common concerns by age

One in five under 10s are often concerned about speaking in front of strangers, while in the older age groups only one in eight people cited this concern. Of the younger age groups, fewer 10-15s worried about school-related concerns, such as going to school, waking up late, or getting homework in on time, in comparison with the under 10s. 20% of those under 10 were constantly concerned about exams, as compared to only 10% of the 10-15 age group.

Under 10s were also more likely to worry about making mistakes in front of people than other age groups. There was little difference within age groups and little concern about texting or using the phone.

One in five 10-15s worried about losing control, while most other age groups were less concerned about this. Over 60s worried least about losing control.

Social butterflies

Image: iStockphoto

Despite citing speaking in front of people as our second biggest day-to-day concern, we’re a population of social butterflies according to our social anxiety quiz (which, like the rest of the survey, is a bit of fun in terms of rigid scientific accuracy –this is the web!). The results were: 3% of respondents were Little miss shy 45% of respondents had to Brush up on their social skills 52% of respondents were Social butterflies

Strength and support

We get most of our support in facing our fears from our family and friends, followed by our partners. Few respondents turn to support groups or professional counselling.

National Fear Survey: Support

Some of our biggest strengths in the face of fear were thinking clearly and strength of will.

Other strengths not listed in the survey which are frequently mentioned by respondents include faith, belief in a higher power or prayer, and scream therapy. Other strengths in the face of fear were undertaking various exercises, including running and self-defence, love from others, laughing and self belief.

National Fear Survey: Strengths

What does it all mean?

Further links

Do the survey again – you can still do the survey to get your own individual results.

Find out more about fear in the brain, global anxiety or fighting fear. Or if you’re really worried about your level of anxiety, check out our list of web resources in getting help.