Abstract
Specific fears are a common and normal experience in the life of children and adolescents. In a substantial minority of youths, the fear for a particular stimulus or situation becomes so intense and severe that it starts to interfere with daily functioning, and in these cases the diagnosis of a specific phobia is warranted. In this chapter, we will first describe the phenomena of specific fears and specific phobias in young people. Then, the occurrence of specific fears and their normal developmental course will be addressed, followed by a discussion of the prevalence of specific phobias as well as some epidemiological facts regarding their severity, continuity, and comorbidity. Following this, we will provide an overview of factors that are involved in the etiology of specific phobias. Consecutively, we will discuss the role of genetics (i.e., hypersensitive fear network in the brain and fearful-inhibited temperament), environmental factors (i.e., specific learning experiences—conditioning, modeling, negative information transmission—or fear-promoting parenting), avoidance, and cognitive biases (i.e., attention bias and covariation bias). Finally, treatment options for children and adolescents with specific phobias will be described. Exposure in vivo appears to be the gold standard for treating this condition, whereas virtual reality exposure might provide a viable alternative.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Title of host publication | Encyclopedia of Child and Adolescent Health, First Edition |
Publisher | Elsevier |
Pages | 227-235 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Volume | 2 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9780128188736 |
ISBN (Print) | 9780128188729 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2023 |
Keywords
- Amygdala
- Anxiety disorders
- Avoidance
- Cognitive biases
- Conditioning
- Developmental parade of fears
- Exposure therapy
- Heritability
- Modeling or vicarious learning
- Negative information transmission
- One-session treatment
- Preparedness theory
- Specific fears
- Specific phobias
- Virtual reality exposure