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I have made up the example below.

(1a) Scientists predict that there will soon be a strong earthquake in the city, which causes fear, stress, and concern in people.

(1b) Scientists predict that there will soon be a strong earthquake in the city, which causes fear, stress, and concern among people.

Which preposition is correct?

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    What causes fear? An earthquake, or the (possibly wrong) prediction? How soon? You can leave out the last two words in both sentences anyway.
    – Weather Vane
    Commented Aug 16, 2020 at 19:28

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“Among” gives the sense of a group (in which fear, stress and concern are present). The etymology of “among” is related to a group or company of people. I believe it is related to present-day German “Menge” - a crowd.

“In” has less sense of a group and more emphasis on the people who compose the group.

From this viewpoint, both are correct and understandable in your example. But the prepositions cannot always be interchanged: “I am among friends” is not synonymous with “I am in friends”, which is almost meaningless.

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