A new Loyola Marymount University poll reveals Los Angeles residents are increasingly concerned about a repeat of the 1992 race riots the roiled the city, and nearly 60 percent now think a similar outbreak is likely in the next five years.

The LMU report, titled “LA Riots 25 Years Later,” shows the highest percentage of L.A. residents who think another race riot is looming since the survey was first conducted in 1997 – a figure that’s 10 percent higher than 2012.

The statistic increased this year for the first time in two decades, and researchers believe it’s likely because of a variety of factors, “including the more polarized national dialogue on race sparked by police shootings in Ferguson, Mo., and elsewhere, as well as by the tenor of last year’s presidential election.”

“Economic disparity continues to increase, and at the end of the day, that is what causes disruption,” said Fernando Guerra, a political science professor who has worked on the survey since the 90s. “People are trying to get along and want to get along, but they understand economic tension boils over to political and social tension.”

Nicole Cuff, a 26-year-old half black half Filipina, told the Los Angeles Times she’s among those who think another race riot could break out at any time, based on what she reads, viral videos of police brutality and Black Lives Matter protests across the country.

“It evokes some unfelt anger that hasn’t been tapped into,” she said. “When nobody pays the price for it … it could set people off.”

LMU researchers asked city residents two questions:

Overall, how would you say that the racial and ethnic groups in Los Angeles are getting along these days – very well, somewhat well, somewhat badly, or very badly?

As you may recall, in 1992 the City of Los Angeles experienced widespread rioting and disturbances. Do you think it’s likely or unlikely that other riots and disturbances like those in 1992 will occur in the City of Los Angeles in the next five years?

For the former, 37 percent of respondents in 1997 said different races got along well, compared to 63 percent who thought they got along badly. This year 76 percent thought different races got along well, and only 24 percent thought they got along badly.

For the latter, 65 percent respondents in 1997 said another riot was likely in the next five years, as opposed to 35 percent who thought riots were unlikely. For 2017, 58 percent thought riots are likely again, while 42 percent thought it’s unlikely.

“Young adults ages 18 to 29, who didn’t directly experience the riots, were more likely than older residents to feel another riot was a possibility, with nearly 7 out of 10 saying one was likely, compared with about half of those 45 or older,” according to the Times. “Those who were unemployed or worked part-time were also more pessimistic, as were black and Latino residents, compared with whites and Asians, the poll found.”

Several folks who spoke with the Times pointed to social media as a major driver for the rising feeling of unrest, both because it provides an avenue to showcase police interactions gone bad and makes it easier for agitators to organize protests and other bad behavior.

“People get emotional quickly after seeing things on social media,” 45-year-old Marco Delgado said. “It can spark a mob mentality.”

Jose Almanza, a University of Southern California freshman, said his classmates are eager to protest, no matter the reason.

“They blame something, they don’t know what it is exactly,” Almanza said. “They can’t express it, so they just go out. A lot of people are doing it to be a part of something.”

Older folks like 66-year-old Javier Capetillo, meanwhile, don’t think there’s the same level of crime, gang violence, and police brutality today as the years leading up to the 1992 riots, which makes a repeat unlikely.

“People think things through nowadays, and there’s less crime,” Capetillo, owner of an East L.A. boxing academy, told the Times. “There was anger towards Hispanics, blacks and cops. But after the riots things got better.”