Common Fears: A Comparison of Adolescents' Self-Generated and Fear Survey Schedule Generated Fears

Investigations into normative fear in adolescence have indicated that the most common fears are consistently death-related and danger-related. Assessments have most commonly been made from self-reports on fear survey schedules. The aim of the present study, therefore, was to determine whether adolescents would provide responses comparable to those generated through the use of a fear survey schedule when asked to list their 3 greatest fears. A total of 439 adolescents aged 11 to 18 years (237 girls, 201 boys, 1 sex not reported) listed their greatest fears; then they completed the 78-item Fear Survey Schedule for Children-II (E. Gullone & N. J. King, 1992). Consistent with past research, the 10 most common fears generated via the fear schedule related to death and danger. However, on the whole, the self-generated fears deviated from the death and danger theme, also including fear of failure, fear of animals, and fear of the unknown. A tendency toward global responses in self-generated fears appeared to encompass the majority of specific death-related fears included in the fear schedule, thus allowing for other predominant fears to be listed among the 3 most common.     

Nighttime fears of children and adolescents: frequency, content, severity, harm expectations, disclosure, and coping behaviours

The present school-based study investigated the nighttime fears of 511 children and adolescents, aged 8-16 years. Participants were assessed using a structured interview about the frequency, content, severity, harm expectations, coping strategies, and disclosure of nighttime fears. Results indicated that nighttime fears are a common experience, with nearly two-thirds (64.2%) of children and adolescents reporting nighttime fears. Fear of intruders/home invasion was the most frequently reported nighttime fear. Females more frequently reported nighttime fears than males (72.9% and 54.6%, respectively) and a greater number of children reported nighttime fears compared to adolescents (79.4% and 48.8%, respectively). Nighttime fears were given moderate severity ratings, and harm expectations were most strongly associated with 'personal security' fears. Respondents reported a variety of coping strategies to manage their nighttime fears with self-control/distraction techniques being the most common. Most respondents reported disclosing their nighttime fear(s) to another person. The clinical implications of these findings and the methodological limitations are discussed.     

The Fears of Youth in the 1990s: Contemporary Normative Data

This article reports the findings of a normative fear investigation involving a sample of 918 Australian children and adolescents, ranging in age from 718 years. The Fear Survey Schedule for Children and Adolescents-II (FSSC-II) was administered to determine self-reported prevalence, intensity, and content of fear. Consistent with past research, girls generally reported significantly higher levels of fearfulness than boys. Age differences also were found; younger children reported a higher intensity and a greater number of fears than older children and adolescents. Qualitative differences in normative fear were found, with younger children reporting more animal fears and older children reporting more fears relating to social evaluation or psychic stress. Significantly, although the specific content of children's and adolescents' normative fears in the 1990s (as compared with the 1960s) has changed (now including fear of AIDS and of nuclear war), the fears found to be most prevalent continue to relate to death and danger. These findings are discussed within the context of the prepotency and preparedness concepts of fear.     

Factor analysis of the 122 item fear survey schedule

The 122 item fear survey schedule was factor analyzed in an attempt to discover whether various stimuli cluster together in their capacity to evoke anxiety. The method of factor analysis involved a rotation to an oblique structure with the result that 5 conceptually pure factors emerged accounting for at least 90 per cent of the variance. The factors were named as follows: (1) fears related to small animals, (2) fears of the precipitators and manifestations of hostility, (3) moralistically related fears and sexual fears, (4) fears of isolation and loneliness, and (5) fears of anatomical destruction and physical pain. Using the items that correlated 0.35 or better with factors, a 40 item fear survey schedule emerged. Suggestions for clinical use of this fear survey schedule were made.     

Frequency and comorbidity of social phobia and social fears in adolescents.

This report presents findings on the frequency, comorbidity and psychosocial impairment of social phobia and social fears among 1035 adolescents, aged 12-17 years. The adolescents were randomly selected from 36 schools in the province of Bremen, Germany. Social phobia and other psychiatric disorders were coded based on DSM-IV criteria using the computerized Munich version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Seventeen (1.6%) of the adolescents met the DSM-IV criteria for social phobia sometimes in their life. More girls than boys received the diagnosis of social phobia and the frequency of the disorder increased with age. The lifetime frequency of social fears were much higher than that of social phobia. The most common types of feared social situations were fear of doing something in front of other people, followed by public speaking. Social phobia comorbid highly with depressive disorders, somatoform disorders and substance use disorders. Despite the high level of psychosocial impairment experienced by cases with social phobia and those with any social fears, only a small portion of them did receive professional help.     

Genetic and environmental causes of the interrelationships between self-reported fears. A study of a non-clinical sample of Norwegian identical twins and their families

The present study reports results from a study of the self-reported fears of identical twins and their spouses and offspring. Factor analysis with oblique rotation of questionnaire responses yielded four correlated fear dimensions: situational fears, illness-injury fears, social fears, and fear of small animals. Models allowing for genetic and cultural transmission, together with specially correlated environments for twins, were fitted, both for separate fears and across fears. Simple models with only genetic and uncorrelated environments were sufficient to account for each the fear dimensions considered separately. The cross-dimensional analyses revealed a genetic and an environmental factor common to the four fear dimensions, together with fear-specific genetic and environmental factors. The impact of the common genetic and common environmental factor varied across dimensions. No evidence of cultural transmission or specially correlated twin environments of the cross-dimensional environments was detected. It is concluded that both common and fear-specific genes and (individual-specific) common and fear-specific environments are necessary to account for the data. The results are discussed in terms of the prepared learning hypothesis and the expectancy bias hypothesis.     

Origins of childhood fears: an evaluation of Rachman's theory of fear acquisition

This study explored Rachman's (1977) theory of fear acquisition in a large sample of Australian and American children and adolescents. Participants completed a questionnaire that addressed different pathways of fear acquisition for 10 highly prevalent fears. The majority of children attributed the onset of their fears to vicarious and instructional factors, although these indirect sources of fear were often combined with direct conditioning experiences. Also examined were effects for gender, age, and nationality. Boys and preadolescents were found to report more direct and vicarious experiences than girls or adolescents. Effects due to nationality were minimal. Methodological limitations attendant to self-reports were acknowledged.     

Evaluating social fears in late adolescence: Study with a Portuguese sample

This work intends to psychometrically evaluate a measure of social fears for late adolescents, who may differently perceive social fear stimulus. A community sample of 794 late adolescents was recruited and assessed, using the Social Anxiety and Avoidance Scale for Adolescents. Internal structure analysis indicates that late adolescents adopt a unique perspective on social experiences. Internal consistency and convergent validity relating to thoughts typical of social anxiety were found. The instrument may be useful for evaluating social fears throughout adolescence.     

Age, gender and patterns of common intense fears among adults

Questionnaires with ratings of 133 fear items were returned by 345 women and 200 men in northwestern Indiana. Respondents ranged in age from 15 to 89 yrs. Items having at least 10% of the responses rated as terror in one of the age groups were analyzed across age. Females showed five patterns as age increased: stability of fear; increasing fear; decreasing fear; increasing fear followed by a decrease in the older groups; and decreasing fear followed by an increase in the older groups. The predominant pattern among males was a sharp decrease after the younger age groups to very low levels in the older groups. Two common intense fears—those of harmless spiders and harmless snakes—seem to meet the theoretical criteria for biological preparedness. It is concluded that the preponderance of common intense fears of adults are the result of cultural and experiential influences.     

What is the revised Fear Survey Schedule for Children measuring?

This study was designed to investigate parameters of children's fear in terms of frequency of fearful thoughts and avoidance behaviour. It is suggested that current measures such as the Fear Survey Schedule for Children--Revised (FSSC-R) do not assess fearful behaviour in the sense of the occurrence of fearful responding in daily life, but rather reflect a negative affective response to the thought of occurrence of specific events. A modified version of the FSSC-R examined the frequency of fearful thoughts/feelings and avoidance activities amongst 376 children aged 7-12 yr. Contrary to predictions, it was found that children reported high levels of fearful thoughts and avoidance behaviour to those items identified as the greatest fears on the FSSC-R, namely fears of injury, illness, death and danger. These events were typically of low probability (e.g. earthquakes) and the question was raised as to what children are responding to when they are asked to rate their fearful responses. The same pattern of results was reflected in older compared to younger children. It is suggested that even when children are asked to rate frequency of fearful thoughts or avoidance behaviour, they tend to respond to fear questionnaire items according to their affective response to the image or thought of the stimulus situation rather than their actual fear responses. Both the FSSC-R and the modified version were found to discriminate between teacher nominated high and low fearful children and to correlate significantly with a self report measure of anxiety.     

COLLEGE WOMEN'S FEARS AND PRECAUTIONARY BEHAVIORS RELATING TO ACQUAINTANCE RAPE AND STRANGER RAPE

Past research on women's fear of rape has focused on women's fears relating to stranger rape, even though most rapes are acquaintance rapes. In this study, 139 undergraduate women completed a questionnaire concerning their fears, precautionary behaviors, and beliefs relating to acquaintance and stranger rape. Women reported being more fearful of rape by strangers than by acquaintances, and they reported engaging in more precautionary behaviors because of fear of stranger rape than of acquaintance rape. When asked to self-generate situations in which they feared rape, they generated more situations in which they feared stranger rape than acquaintance rape. Paradoxically, they estimated that acquaintance rape was more common. Precautionary behaviors were best predicted by level of fear. A history of acquaintance rape had no effect on women's responses. Theoretical and educational implications are discussed.     

Acquisition and severity of driving-related fears

Rachman's theory of fear acquisition proposes that directly-conditioned fears will differ from indirectly-conditioned fears in magnitude and anxiety response patterns, however the theory has received inconsistent empirical support. The aim of the present study was to describe the fear acquisition pathways for a community sample who reported driving-related fears, and to test Rachman's theory of fear acquisition. One hundred and ninety participants completed a questionnaire which assessed a variety of driving-related situations, reactions to motor vehicle accidents (MVAs), and anxiety response patterns. Professional psychological helpseeking and perceived need for treatment for driving-related fears were also assessed. Results failed to support Rachman's predictions. However, it was confirmed that respondents who had been involved in an MVA were more likely to ascribe their fears to a directly-conditioned pathway. The theoretical and methodological implications of the findings are discussed, along with suggestions for assessment of those with driving-related fears.     

Warlpiri fears/whitefella fears: Ways of being in Central Australia seen through an emotion

Experiences of fear and responses to it are variable across cultures and individuals, and across the environments they inhabit. In some environments, fear is a constant presence in people's lives; in others it is sporadic, provoked or intensified by particular events. This paper examines how fear shapes everyday actions and experiences in central Australia. It draws on material gathered during research among Indigenous (Warlpiri) residents in the remote Northern Territory settlement of Yuendumu, and on observations and conversations with Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in the town of Alice Springs. The case studies presented revolve around a feud at Yuendumu, some well-publicised and related ‘murders’ in Alice Springs, and the Australian Federal Government's Intervention into Aboriginal Communities in the Northern Territory (NTER). The analysis examines how specific fears are generated in particular situations, and discusses how Warlpiri and non-Indigenous residents respond to such fear(s). The comparisons between town/remote and Indigenous/non-Indigenous settings and responses carry implications for how we analyse emotion and motivation in cross-cultural settings. The paper concludes by using fear as one prism through which to understand changing aspects of everyday life.     

The fears of the counsellors: a qualitative study

The author begins this paper with the claim that fear is a relatively under-researched topic in counselling despite its prevalence. Ten counsellors were interviewed concerning their fears encountered in their therapeutic work. Participants were also asked what they had found to be helpful and unhelpful when attempting to deal with these fears. Fears reported are categorised into fears of losing control, fears of being separated from a group by way of disapproval or rejection, and fears of physical and/or sexual assault. Substantive quotations are provided from the interviews. The author concludes with the contention that a deeper consideration and enhanced understanding of counsellors' fears will assist counsellors and their supervisors to accord fear an appropriate and healthy respect without becoming unduly frightened in the process.     

Children's nighttime fears: parent-child ratings of frequency, content, origins, coping behaviors and severity

The present study investigated nighttime fears in normal school children aged 4 to 12 yr (N=176). Children and their parents were interviewed about the frequency, content, origins, coping behaviors and severity of children's nighttime fears. Results showed that 73.3% of the children reported nighttime fears, indicating that these fears are quite prevalent. Inspection of the developmental course of nighttime fears revealed that these fears are common among 4- to 6-year-olds, become even more frequent in 7- to 9-year-olds and then remain relatively stable in 10- to 12-year-olds. Inspection of the origins of nighttime fears revealed that most of the children (i.e., almost 80%) attributed their fear to negative information; conditioning and modeling were endorsed less frequently (25.6% and 13.2%, respectively). A substantial percentage of the children (24.0%) indicated that learning experiences had not played a role in the acquisition of their nighttime fears. Children reported a variety of coping strategies in order to deal with their nighttime fears and generally rated these strategies as helpful in reducing anxiety. Furthermore, children's nighttime fears were associated with moderate levels of anxiety. Moreover, in about 10% of the children, nighttime fears were related to one or more DSM-III-R anxiety disorders. Finally, parental reports of children's nighttime fears substantially deviated from children's reports. Most importantly, parents provided a marked underestimation of the frequency of nighttime fears, at least as reported by their children.     

Measuring the role of conditioning and stimulus generalisation in common fears and worries

Common and persistent fears may emerge through learning mechanisms such as fear conditioning and generalisation. Although there have been extensive studies of these learning processes in healthy but also psychiatric samples, many of the tasks used to produce conditioning and assess generalisation either use painful and aversive stimuli as the unconditioned stimuli (UCS), or suffer from poor belongingness between the conditioned stimuli and the UCS. Here, we present novel data from a paradigm designed to examine fear conditioning and generalisation in healthy individuals. Two female faces served as conditioned threat cue (CS+) and conditioned safety cue (CS?) respectively. The CS+ was paired repeatedly with a fearful, screaming face (unconditioned stimulus). Generalisation included intermediate faces which varied in their similarity to the CS+ and CS?. We measured eyeblink startle reflex and self-reported ratings. Acquired fear of the CS+ generalised to intermediate stimuli in proportion to their perceptual similarity to the CS+. Our findings demonstrate how fears of new individuals may develop based on resemblance to others with whom an individual has had negative experiences. The paradigm offers new opportunities for probing the role of generalisation in the emergence of common and persistent fears.     

General and specific fears in referred and self-referred adult patients with extreme dental anxiety.

The levels of, and relationships between, dental fear and general fears and phobias were studied in 109 adult patients at a specialized dental fear clinic using two dental fear scales (the Dental Anxiety Scale and the Dental Fear Survey) together with the Fear Survey Schedule II (FSS-II) and some additional fear items. Referred and self-referred fearful dental patients answered mailed questionnaires in conjunction to being put on a 1 yr waiting list for treatment. Among feared objects and situations the separate item 'pain' revealed the highest mean scores for both men and women, followed by fear of suffocating, death of a loved one and sharp objects among women, and death of a loved one, suffocating and hypodermic needles among men. With few exceptions, women scored higher than men. The frequencies of extreme fears (6 and 7 on a 7-point scale) were high and 92.7% of the patients reported at least one extreme fear. Half of the subjects (49.5%) reported five fears or more. It was also shown that a number of FSS-II items correlated to dental fear indicating a relationship between general and dental fear. These results indicated that a large proportion of these dentally fearful individuals were prone to fear-associated reactions and behaviors, which has previously been shown to negatively influence the prognosis of treatment.