The DOI matches its Crossref record; 18 of the 18 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Origins of childhood fears: An evaluation of Rachman's theory of fear acquisition
Abstract
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.
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In the citing paper
“the majority of participants (89%), across the 10 fears, reported experiencing the information/instruction pathway, followed by the vicarious pathway (56%), while 36% reported experiencing a direct conditioning event.”
From Specific Phobia in Young Children: Associations between the Origins of Fear and Clinical Expression of Phobia Symptoms. (2025) · cites this paper as Ollendick & King, 1991
In the citing paper
“Interestingly, a portion of children who reported ' a lot ' of fear did not experience a direct conditioning event, or reported ' no fear ' after experiencing a direct conditioning event.”
From Specific Phobia in Young Children: Associations between the Origins of Fear and Clinical Expression of Phobia Symptoms. (2025) · cites this paper as Ollendick & King, 1991
In the citing paper
“Indeed, Ollendick & King (1991) found that those reporting ' a lot ' of fear were more likely to endorse a combination of pathways than those endorsing no fear.”
From Specific Phobia in Young Children: Associations between the Origins of Fear and Clinical Expression of Phobia Symptoms. (2025) · cites this paper as Ollendick & King, 1991
Citations
Cites
The conditioning theory of fearacquisition: A critical examination
Rachman, S. (1977) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/0005-7967(77)90041-9 · Cited by 1,191
Reliability and validity of the revised fear survey schedule for children (FSSC-R)
Ollendick, T. H. (1983) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/0005-7967(83)90087-6 · Cited by 1,013
Self-citationMarks, I. M. (1987) · Cited by 978
Ollendick, T. H., King, N. J., & Frary, R. B. (1989) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/0005-7967(89)90115-0 · Cited by 372
Self-citationAcquisition of phobias and anxiety response patterns in clinical patients
Öst, L., & Hugdahl, K. (1981) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/0005-7967(81)90134-0 · Cited by 294
Fears in children and adolescents: normative data
Ollendick, T. H., Matson, J. L., & Helsel, W. J. (1985) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/0005-7967(85)90174-3 · Cited by 241
Self-citationThe passing of the two-stage theory of fear and avoidance: Fresh possibilities
Rachman, S. (1976) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/0005-7967(76)90066-8 · Cited by 214
Fears in British Children and Their Relationship to Manifest Anxiety and Depression
Ollendick, T. H., Yule, W., & Oilier, K. (1991) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.1991.tb00310.x · Cited by 182
Self-citationChildren's phobias: a behavioural perspective
(1988) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.26-2402 · Cited by 154
The etiology and maintenance of severe animal phobias
McNally, R. J., & Steketee, G. S. (1985) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/0005-7967(85)90171-8 · Cited by 153
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An Exploration of the Relationship Between Vicarious Learning Experiences and Panic Attacks
Pelletier, H. L. (2011) · OhioLink ETD Center (Ohio Library and Information Network)
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A cognitive theory of the etiology of fear.
Armfield, J. M. (2008) · Adelaide Research & Scholarship (AR&S) (University of Adelaide)
A Developmental Approach to the Prevention of Anxiety Disorders During Childhood
Lock, S. (2004) · Griffith Research Online · doi:10.25904/1912/1372
Fliek (2020) · Research Publications (Maastricht University) · doi:10.26481/dis.20200124lf
Owen, C. K. (2020) · doi:10.33915/etd.7644
“According to Ollendick and King (1991), fear acquisition occurs in an integrated manner through direct conditioning, vicarious experiences, and modeling.”
BackgroundInfluentialAngststörungen in der Kindheit
In‐Albon, T., & Pfeiffer, S. (2020) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-662-45995-9_33-1
Children’s Perceptions of Pain in Conjunction With Tooth Extraction – A Grounded Theory StudyPreprint
Berlin, H., Hallberg, U. E., Ridell, K., Toft, D., & Klingberg, G. (2021) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-612357/v1
Lowe, P. A., Raad, J. M., Schon, J. S., & George, C. (2014) · Encyclopedia of Special Education · doi:10.1002/9781118660584.ese0161
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Lowe, P. A., Raad, J. M., & Schon, J. S. (2008) · Encyclopedia of Special Education · doi:10.1002/9780470373699.speced0149
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Dowd, E. T. (2002) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b0-12-343010-0/00233-6
The symbolism of fear-themed drawings of Turkish and Polish children
Konieczna, E. J., & Talu, E. (2023) · Przegląd Badań Edukacyjnych · doi:10.12775/pbe.2022.021
Imagery-based fear conditioning enhances the late positive potential
Panitz, C., & Mueller, E. M. (2026) · Cognitive Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.3758/s13415-025-01385-y · Cited by 2
“Moreover, the different mechanisms are not mutually exclusive and the development of fears may often be mediated via more than one pathway (Ollendick & King, 1991).”
Editorial: Neural and behavioral mechanisms of social learning
Agee, L. A., Monfils, M., & Fourtassi, A. (2025) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2025.1566408
Parenting and childhood in a culture of fear
Franklin, L. (2011) · Loughborough University Institutional Repository (Loughborough University)
Ewing, D. L. (2014) · Sussex Research Online (University of Sussex)
Metadata
- Authors
- Ollendick, T. H., & King, N. J.
- Affiliations
- Virginia Tech (US)
- Monash University (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Ollendick, Thomas H.
- ORCID
- Ollendick, Thomas H.
- Venue
- Behaviour Research and Therapy
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 1991
- Volume
- 29
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 117-123
- ISSN
- 0005-7967 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2066505366
- Cited by
- 220
- References
- 18
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 10 · 2013: 7 · 2012: 7
- FWCI
- 6.46
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Behaviour Research and Therapy (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Child and Animal Learning Development
- Keywords
- children's fears, fear acquisition, observational learning, instructional learning, gender differences, age differences, nationality effects, children and adolescents
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Psychology, Adolescent, Age Factors, Analysis of Variance, Child, Child Development, Conditioning, Psychological, Fear, Female, Humans, Male, Models, Psychological, Phobic Disorders, Retrospective Studies, Sex Factors, Chi-Square Distribution
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