APTOPIX Charleston Shooting

Kearston Farr hugs her 5-year-old daughter Taliyah while visiting a memorial in front of the Emanuel AME Church in June in Charleston, South Carolina. Americans said the most important events of 2015 were a string of mass shootings.

(AP files)

NEW YORK -- Mass shootings and attacks weighed heavily on the minds of Americans in 2015, according to a new poll.

Here is a look at the key findings of The Associated Press-Times Square Alliance poll:

PREOCCUPIED BY TRAGEDIES

Americans said the most important events of 2015 were a string of mass shootings, including the attacks in San Bernardino, California, and Paris, plus Islamic State group atrocities.

Fifty-seven percent of those polled said this year was worse than the last year for the world as a whole, up from the 38 percent asked that question a year ago. Only 10 percent believe 2015 was a better year than 2014, while 32 percent think there wasn't much difference.

Americans also are much less likely than they were a year ago to believe that the current year was better for the United States -- only 17 percent compared with 30 percent a year ago. Thirty-seven percent said this year was worse for the country than last year, while 44 percent don't think there was much difference.

Interviewed separately from the poll, Jason Pruitt, a 43-year-old corporate pilot from the Detroit area, said security concerns were a factor in deciding whether to take his wife and daughter along on a Christmas trip to New York.

"We were thinking about not coming this year, because of everything that's going on," Pruitt said. But they went ahead "because when you change your life, the terrorists win."

U.S., Paris events stand out

Of those polled, 68 percent listed mass shootings in the U.S. as very or extremely important news events this year, including the one in San Bernardino, plus shootings in Charleston, South Carolina; Roseburg, Oregon; and Chattanooga, Tennessee.

At 64 percent, were the Paris attacks that ushered in 2015, targeting Charlie Hebdo and the Jewish market, then the Bataclan concert hall and other city sites in November.

Also, the Islamic State group's various atrocities triggered fears.

Other issues

Domestically, 44 percent of those polled rate as extremely or very important the deaths of blacks in encounters with police that sparked "Black Lives Matter" protests in Baltimore and Chicago before spreading.

Another 44 percent rate the deal reached to curtail Iran's nuclear program as important, and nearly as many (42 percent) Europe's migrant crisis.

Only 40 percent said the presidential race was important to them, with the Paris climate change conference right behind (at 38 percent), followed by the Supreme Court's legalization of gay marriage (36 percent) and the Cuban-U.S. thaw (30 percent).

The year in pop culture

No single pop culture event of 2015 stands out, with fewer than four in 10 Americans rating any as memorable.

Bill Cosby's legal woes were memorable to 36 percent; forgettable to 33 percent.

Bruce Jenner becoming Caitlyn Jenner, with a highly orchestrated publicity campaign, was forgettable to 52 percent, and Taylor Swift's world tour to 55 percent.

Plans for the new year

Most Americans plan to celebrate New Year's Eve either at home (48 percent) or at the home of a friend or family member (20 percent). Nine percent plan to be at a bar, restaurant or organized event, while just under a quarter (22 percent) don't plan to celebrate at all.

A majority of Americans (56 percent) will watch the New Year's Eve events in Times Square, and 95 percent of those will see it on TV.

Those findings were similar to those of the past two years.

Methodology

The AP-Times Square Alliance Poll of 1,020 adults was conducted online Dec. 11-13, using a sample drawn from GfK's probability-based KnowledgePanel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3 percentage points.