First day in new job 'scares people more than surgery'

CHILDBIRTH and the first day of a new job terrify Britons more than medical operations or buying a house, according to a study.

The research indicates many of the biggest fears relate to "firsts", with new jobs, sexual encounters and the birth of a first child being high on the list of "fear factors," suggesting the nation is prone to performance anxiety.

Top of the "Lifetime Fear Factor" list for women and men was childbirth and attending the birth of a child (22 per cent).

The first day of a new job followed at number two on 18 per cent.

Dr Mary Brown, a lecturer in psychology at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, said: "The firsts which frighten people so much are all rites of passage. But in our society, we don't organise these major events with a celebration as tribal societies do, meaning that people have to go through such milestones on their own."

The research was commissioned to coincide with the lauch of new police drama Rookie Blue which airs this Sunday at 10 pm on the Universal Channel.