Common childhood fears and their origins

The present study examined rank orders and characteristics of childhood fears. A ‘free option’ approach (‘What do you fear most?’) deviated markedly from the fear rank order based on the Fear Survey Schedule for Children. A second aim of the study was to investigate the origins of prevalent childhood fears. In contrast to the results of Ollendick and King (1991, Behaviour Research and Therapy, 29, 117–123), conditioning was found to be the most commonly reported pathway related to exacerbation and onset of fears. Finally, special attention was given to the top intense fear in children, namely fear of spiders. Children who reported ‘none’, ‘some’ or ‘a lot’ of spider fear were compared with each other in terms of pathways. No differences between the three groups were found with respect to the frequency of modeling and information experiences. However, high fearful children more often reported conditioning experiences than low or moderate fearful children.