Normal fear in people with a physical or intellectual disability

Normal fear constitutes an adaptive reaction to a real or imagined threat and is an integral part of development. The developmental pattern of normal fear has significant clinical importance, particularly in relation to establishing norms of fearfulness against which excessive or “phobic” fears can be identified. In contrast to people without a disability, only limited research has been carried out with people who have hearing, visual, physical, intellectual, and health impairments. Nonetheless, the research that has been done shows that, as with nondisabled people, those with disabilities are most likely to fear situations and stimuli which pose survival danger. Also consistent with the nondisabled population, females demonstrate higher fear levels than males. However, people with disabilities generally demonstrate a wider variety and more intense fears, albeit, of a developmentally less mature nature than people without disabilities. It has not been determined whether these differences are mostly the result of biological factors, social factors, or a combination of both. These are questions for future research.