As many as 40% of Italians feel "under siege" from Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists as well as the effects of the economic crisis, an Italian psychiatrist said at a conference Monday.
According to Claudio Mencacci, past president of the Italian society of psychiatry, Italians feel they are besieged by fears of terror and economic problems with no solutions in sight.
The numbers have shot up in recent months and similar concerns affect the entire continent, he told the European Association of Psychiatry at its 23rd congress in Vienna.
"What we see is the growth of fears from ISIS and terrorism in all EU countries, albeit with different intensities," he said.
Anxieties overall are higher in Italy, he added, because they are complicated by high levels of youth unemployment as well as lack of economic growth.
"(Italians) feel a sense of growing unease about the lack of prospects for the future," he said.
ISIS violence has recently captured more headlines in Italy because of fears that as the terrorists capture more territory in Libya, they are drawing closer to Italy.
Isis has also threatened to attack Rome.
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