Fears

Most children experience fear sometime during their development. In fact, studies show that approximately 75% of normal children between 4 and 12 years of age report being fearful of one thing or another (Ollendick & colleagues, 2002). In general, childhood fears tend to be mild, age-specific, and transitory. For most children, the initial experience of fear occurs during infancy when a loud noise or loss of support produces a startle-like response. Following this, panic-like fear tends to occur in older infants when exposed to new situations, unfamiliar people, or separation from major attachment figures. Later on, children between the ages of 2 and 4 begin to develop fears of imaginary creatures (i.e., ghosts, monsters) as well as animals and the dark. School-related fears tend to appear shortly after this when the child first enters formal schooling. Finally, during later childhood and adolescence, common fears related to social and evaluative anxiety emerge.

These developmental patterns in fear type have been reported in several studies. For example, in an early study, Bauer (1976) showed that 76% of 4- to 6-year-old children reported fears of ghosts and monsters, as compared to 53% of children 6 to 8 years old, and only 5% of 10- to 12-year-old children. Conversely, only 11% of the youngest group of children reported fears of bodily injury or physical danger as compared with 53% and 55%, respectfully, of the two older groups of children. Regardless of age, children's most common fears are related to perceived danger and harm.

A major advance in the study of childhood fears occurred with the development of the Fear Survey Schedule for Children-Revised (FSSC-R) (Ollendick, 1983). Numerous studies have used this survey, resulting in a rich body of literature from studies conducted in the United States, as well as in many other countries. These studies have provided information on cultural norms as well as cross-cultural differences in the patterning and expression of fear. Although cultural differences occur, these studies reveal similar findings in these various countries regarding the number and types of fears (Ollendick & colleagues, 2002). In line with the previous description of the developmental patterning of fears, the most frequently endorsed fears in all countries tend to be related to physical harm and dangerous situations at an early age, and fears of social and evaluative concerns in adolescence.

Although most fears are relatively transient and age-specific, for some children these fears persist and evolve into phobias. A specific phobia can be defined as an excessive and persistent fear that results in response to, or anticipation of, an explicitly feared object or situation. A phobia may be expressed through crying, tantrum, freezing, or clinging behaviors. In addition, the feared stimulus is usually avoided or endured with intense anxiety or distress. Finally, in order to separate the typical developmental fears experienced by most children (which tend to dissipate over time), a duration parameter of six months is required for the diagnosis of specific phobias in children. Phobias can be quite [Page 208]problematic for children and professional treatment is frequently called for.

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