Heights, snakes, terrorism top list of fears of British Columbians

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – A high number of British Columbians seen to have one thing in common — their fear of being the victim of a terrorist attack. “We asked this question before the attacks in Orlando, so it hasn’t really been clouded by what has happened in the United States over the past few days,” explains Insights West pollster Mario Canseco.

The new poll finds 43 per cent of people in this province list that as their number one fear, followed by heights (40 per cent) and snakes (40 per cent). Being the victim of a crime is next on the list at 38 per cent, then it’s being in a nuclear war at 37 per cent, public speaking comes in at 36 per cent and spiders round it out at 33 per cent.

Canseco says although the list has some common fears, there were some surprises. “We thought getting a shot or needle was going to be big, it was only 17 per cent. A fear of flying, which is something we read about many times, was only 16 per cent. A fear of blood was 11 per cent and clowns, which is usually mentioned as one of the things people fear as kids is only seven per cent. The numbers aren’t quite as high as we imagined.”

People acknowledged they had taken specific steps to deal with their fears. One-third of people (32 per cent) say they have asked another person to “get rid” of an insect, bug or spider, including almost half of women.

“Gender and age play a role in the situations that British Columbians fear,” adds Canseco. “Women are more likely than men to be afraid of becoming victims of a crime, while the fear of nuclear war is strongest among those aged 55 and over.”

Only 13 per cent of people admitted to coming close to “losing it” in front of others on account of a fear. And seven per cent used the stairs instead of the elevator to avoid being in a confined an enclosed space.

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