Why are British people afraid of "scandal"?

I've watched a lot of British TV shows where people react very strongly when they hear about a "scandal" about themselves. Why are British people so afraid of "scandals"?

The answer to your question is the definition of the word "scandal" - "an action or event regarded as morally or legally wrong and causing general public outrage."
People tends not to like the general public being outraged by the discovery that they've done something morally or legally wrong.
Are you suggesting that those outside the UK do morally or legally wrong things all the time, which become public knowledge, and they simply don't care?

The answer to your question is the definition of the word "scandal" - "an action or event regarded as morally or legally wrong and causing general public outrage."
People tends not to like the general public being outraged by the discovery that they've done something morally or legally wrong.
Are you suggesting that those outside the UK do morally or legally wrong things all the time, which become public knowledge, and they simply don't care?

Yes, for example, in the United States, people don't care about "scandals" at all. "Scandals" will not have a great impact on the people who made mistakes.

So, I want to take the novel "Pride and Prejudice" as an example. In the novel "Pride and Prejudice", when Elizabeth Bennet knew that her sister Lydia had eloped with George Wickham and that George Wickham did not intend to marry Lydia, why did Elizabeth Bennet feel sad and cry? Did Elizabeth Bennet cry because she was afraid of "scandal"? If George Wickham eloped with Lydia, but George Wickham did not marry Lydia in the end, what impact would this have on Lydia and Elizabeth?

Really? So none of these "scandals" had much impact on the people involved?
• "On Friday, America will mark the 50th anniversary of the Watergate break-in. The scandal that riveted the nation and forced the resignation of a president is taught in schools as a dark chapter in history." (Washington Post)
• "The question sending shockwaves through Hollywood: How did Blake Lively get those damaging texts?" ... "The text messages — rife with bravado, boasts and intrigue — have fueled a scandal that has rocked the entertainment industry and spotlighted the ruthless underbelly of the Hollywood publicity machine." (LA Times)
• "College Admissions Scandal" ... "Complete coverage of a brazen cheating scheme." (The New York Times)
So the US clearly has scandals, and people are clearly impacted by them. I suspect you question is really about the types of activity which people consider scandalous.

I've not read the book, so am not best qualified to comment. However, as I understand it there are two things at play:
1. The book was written and set at a time in British history when to have relations prior to marriage was considered improper.
2. The public at large (both then and now) often like to consider people guilty by association.

Yes, I mean: "If an American man eloped with an American woman, and the American man had no intention of marrying the American woman, Americans would not consider it a 'scandal' ，And this incident will not have a great impact on this American woman.but for the British it's a scandal.I don't know why."

So, when an English man elopes with an English woman, the English man has no intention of marrying the English woman. What will happen next to this British woman? Can you be more specific?

Exactly. As I said above, your question is really about the types of activity which people consider scandalous.
Nothing. Absolutely nothing. This is because behaviour which is considered immoral or scandalous when Pride and Prejudice was written / set is very different from today. Today, no-one would pay any attention the the behaviour described in that novel.

Yes, I made a linguistic error, "scandals" also affect American life. I have another question, apart from "premarital sex", what other behaviors do the British hate? What other behaviors are considered "scandal" by the British?

Are you asking about what would be considered scandalous now or during the Napoleonic Wars (1797-1815), when Pride and Prejudice was set?