Study Says One In Ten Americans Are Afraid Of Thunderstorms
- 10 years ago
A new study from a mother-daughter research team shows that one in ten people are afraid of thunderstorms, and other extreme weather like tornadoes, hurricanes, and wildfires. The survey asked 300 people to rate their anxiety or fear about certain weather conditions.
A new study from a mother-daughter research team shows that one in ten Americans may be afraid of thunderstorms, and other extreme weather like tornadoes, hurricanes, and wildfires.
The survey asked 298 people to rate their anxiety or fear about certain weather conditions.
Jill Coleman, a geographer from Ball State University, and her mother Karen Multon, who is a professor at the University of Kansas worked together on the study.
Results found that people experience a variety of symptoms surrounding their anxiety about severe weather including feeling helpless or dizzy, an increased heart rate, loss of sleep, or obsessively checking weather report updates.
Coleman is quoted as saying: "It's definitely normal, and we want people to have some sort of fear of storms to an extent, because you're more apt to be proactive about it ... but not to the point where people are so fearful they do nothing."
Astraphobia is the technical name for the fear of storms, and in some cases that can lead to agoraphobia, where the person is afraid of being trapped outside and does not leave their house.
One out of ten people surveyed rated their fear of storms as quite a bit or extreme, but only three percent said they were doing anything to help their anxiety.
A new study from a mother-daughter research team shows that one in ten Americans may be afraid of thunderstorms, and other extreme weather like tornadoes, hurricanes, and wildfires.
The survey asked 298 people to rate their anxiety or fear about certain weather conditions.
Jill Coleman, a geographer from Ball State University, and her mother Karen Multon, who is a professor at the University of Kansas worked together on the study.
Results found that people experience a variety of symptoms surrounding their anxiety about severe weather including feeling helpless or dizzy, an increased heart rate, loss of sleep, or obsessively checking weather report updates.
Coleman is quoted as saying: "It's definitely normal, and we want people to have some sort of fear of storms to an extent, because you're more apt to be proactive about it ... but not to the point where people are so fearful they do nothing."
Astraphobia is the technical name for the fear of storms, and in some cases that can lead to agoraphobia, where the person is afraid of being trapped outside and does not leave their house.
One out of ten people surveyed rated their fear of storms as quite a bit or extreme, but only three percent said they were doing anything to help their anxiety.