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Common childhood fears and their origins
Abstract
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.
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“increasing evidence suggests that the Pathways to Fear Survey (Doogan & Thomas, 1992; King et al., 1997; Muris et al., 1997; Ollendick & King, 1991) is a valuable tool in examining the origins of children ' s fears”
From Specific Phobia in Young Children: Associations between the Origins of Fear and Clinical Expression of Phobia Symptoms. (2025) · cites this paper as Muris et al., 1997
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 · cited 2×
“That study evaluated to what extent Rachman's ( Rachman, 1977, 1991 ) theory of fear acquisition can be applied to the ten most common FSSC-R fears.”
BackgroundReliability 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
The Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule for Children
SILVERMAN, W. K., & NELLES, W. B. (1988) · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/00004583-198811000-00019 · Cited by 688
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
Neo-conditioning and the classical theory of fear acquisition
Rachman, S. (1991) · Clinical Psychology Review · doi:10.1016/0272-7358(91)90093-a · Cited by 256
Origins of childhood dental fear
Milgrom, P., Mancl, L., King, B., & Weinstein, P. (1995) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/0005-7967(94)00042-i · Cited by 251
The role of parental fearfulness and modeling in children's fear
Muris, P., Steerneman, P., Merckelbach, H., & Meesters, C. (1996) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/0005-7967(95)00067-4 · Cited by 228
Self-citationOrigins of childhood fears: An evaluation of Rachman's theory of fear acquisition
Ollendick, T. H., & King, N. J. (1991) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/0005-7967(91)90039-6 · Cited by 220 · cited 5×
“In line with the findings of Ollendick and King (1991) , the present study found that children more often reported negative information than either conditioning or modeling experiences.”
BackgroundMethodResultInfluentialThe etiology of phobias: A nonassociative account
Menzies, R. G., & Clarke, J. C. (1995) · Clinical Psychology Review · doi:10.1016/0272-7358(94)00039-5 · Cited by 207
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
Cited by
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Anxiety Disorders During Childhood and Adolescence: Origins and Treatment
Rapee, R. M., Schniering, C. A., & Hudson, J. L. (2009) · Annual Review of Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev.clinpsy.032408.153628 · Cited by 821
The development of normal fear
Gullone, E. (2000) · Clinical Psychology Review · doi:10.1016/s0272-7358(99)00034-3 · Cited by 460
Muris, P., Merckelbach, H. L. G. J., Gadet, B., & Moulaert, V. (2000) · Journal of Clinical Child Psychology · doi:10.1207/s15374424jccp2901_5 · Cited by 312
“In a more recent study, Muris, Merckelbach, and Collaris (1997) sought to replicate these findings.”
BackgroundResultInfluentialSelf-citationHow serious are common childhood fears?
Muris, P., Merckelbach, H., Mayer, B., & Prins, E. (2000) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/s0005-7967(98)00204-6 · Cited by 195
“It is worthy of note that the fear rank order obtained by the free option method was highly similar to that found in other studies employing this method (Muris et al., 1997, 1998).”
ResultSelf-citationField, A. P., Argyris, N. G., & Knowles, K. A. (2001) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/s0005-7967(00)00080-2 · Cited by 188
“Muris et al. (1996), for example, found that trait anxiety in children was positively associated with trait anxiety of both the mother and father and that children of mothers who tended to express their fears often had the highest FSSC scores.”
BackgroundThe vicarious learning pathway to fear 40 years on
Askew, C., & Field, A. P. (2008) · Clinical Psychology Review · doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2008.05.003 · Cited by 187
Threat-detection in child development: An evolutionary perspective
Boyer, P., & Bergstrom, B. (2010) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2010.08.010 · Cited by 167
Disaster Preparedness for Children and Families: a Critical Review
Ronan, K. R., Alisic, E., Towers, B., Johnson, V. A., & Johnston, D. M. (2015) · Current Psychiatry Reports · doi:10.1007/s11920-015-0589-6 · Cited by 156
Draw-and-Tell Conversations With Children About Fear
Driessnack, M. (2006) · Qualitative Health Research · doi:10.1177/1049732306294127 · Cited by 146
The Role of Verbal Threat Information in the Development of Childhood Fear. “Beware the Jabberwock!”
Muris, P., & Field, A. P. (2010) · Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review · doi:10.1007/s10567-010-0064-1 · Cited by 146
“Interestingly, in two of these studies (Muris et al. 1997; Muris et al. 2008a), children were also explicitly asked to what extent threat information (and other learning) experiences had actually played a role in the exacerbation (‘‘Did the event cause you to become more fearful?’’) or onset (‘‘Did your fear begin wit…”
BackgroundResultSelf-citationMURIS, P., MEESTERS, C., MERCKELBACH, H., SERMON, A., & ZWAKHALEN, S. (1998) · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/00004583-199807000-00009 · Cited by 214
Self-citationPhobic disorders and panic in adults: A guide to assessment and treatment.
Antony, M. M., & Swinson, R. P. (2000) · American Psychological Association eBooks · doi:10.1037/10348-000 · Cited by 143
Muris, P., Merckelbach, H. L. G. J., Ollendick, T. H., King, N. J., & Bogie, N. (2001) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/s0005-7967(99)00155-2 · Cited by 140
Self-citationEtiology of childhood phobias: current status of Rachman’s three pathways theory
King, N. J., Eleonora, G., & Ollendick, T. H. (1998) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/s0005-7967(98)00015-1 · Cited by 136
Nervous Habits and Stereotyped Behaviors in Preschool Children
Anthony, L. G. (1998) · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/00004583-199807000-00010 · Cited by 112
Waters, A. M., Henry, J., & Neumann, D. L. (2009) · Journal of Abnormal Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0015635 · Cited by 111
Evidence for retarded extinction of aversive learning in anxious children
Liberman, L. C., Lipp, O. V., Spence, S. H., & March, S. (2005) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2005.11.004 · Cited by 108
Itsy Bitsy Spider…: Infants React with Increased Arousal to Spiders and Snakes
Hoehl, S., Hellmer, K., Johansson, M., & Gredebäck, G. (2017) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01710 · Cited by 103
“…and snakes have a prevalence rate of 1–5 percent (Fredrikson et al., 1996), a strong dislike of these animals is reported by more than a third of the child population (Muris et al., 1997) and the adult population (Davey, 1991), the latter from which even entomologists are not exempt (Vetter, 2013).”
Fear of the beast: a prospective study on the effects of negative information on childhood fear
Muris, P., Bodden, D. H. M., Merckelbach, H. L. G. J., Ollendick, T. H., & King, N. J. (2003) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/s0005-7967(01)00137-1 · Cited by 97
“Muris et al. / Behaviour Research and Therapy 41 (2003) 195–208”
BackgroundSelf-citationHigh School Students’ Attitudes Towards Spiders: A cross‐cultural comparison
Prokop, P., Tolarovičová, A., Camerik, A. M., & Peterková, V. (2009) · International Journal of Science Education · doi:10.1080/09500690903253908 · Cited by 90
“Secondly, the reputation of spiders among humans is worse than that of many other animals (Davey, 1994; Kirkpatrick, 1984; Muris et al., 1997).”
BackgroundInfluentialFear in infancy: Lessons from snakes, spiders, heights, and strangers.
LoBue, V., & Adolph, K. E. (2019) · Developmental Psychology · doi:10.1037/dev0000675 · Cited by 93
Möller, E. L., Majdandžić, M., de Vente, W., & Bögels, S. M. (2012) · Journal of Experimental Psychopathology · doi:10.5127/jep.026912 · Cited by 91
“Interestingly, in the study of Muris et al. (1997), 33% of the children did not know what caused their fear, suggesting that it may be difficult if not impossible to attribute the etiology of personal fears to one of three pathways.”
BackgroundThe etiology of specific fears and phobias in children: a critique of the non-associative account
Muris, P., Merckelbach, H. L. G. J., de Jong, P. J., & Ollendick, T. H. (2002) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/s0005-7967(01)00051-1 · Cited by 80
“These studies show that a signifi cant number of spider and dog phobic children report associative onset experiences that are con fi rmed by their parents (e.g., Kheriaty, Kleinknecht, & Hyman, 1999; Merckelbach, Muris, & Schouten, 1996; Merckelbach & Muris, 1997; Muris, Merckelbach, & Collaris, 1997 ).”
BackgroundSelf-citationThe structure of specific phobia symptoms among children and adolescents
Muris, P., Schmidt, H. G., & Merckelbach, H. L. G. J. (1999) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/s0005-7967(98)00201-0 · Cited by 71
Self-citationGordon, J., King, N., Gullone, E., Muris, P., & Ollendick, T. H. (2007) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2007.03.013 · Cited by 70
“The interview comprised a structured format, with questions adapted from Muris, Merckelbach, and Collaris (1997) and Muris et al. (2001).”
MethodSelf-citationSayfan, L., & Lagattuta, K. H. (2008) · Child Development · doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2008.01161.x · Cited by 56
“During the preschool years, children also begin to fear imaginary and supernatural creatures, including witches, monsters, and ghosts, with these fears of the imaginary and supernatural typically diminishing substantially by school age (Muris et al., 1997; Muris & Merckelbach, 2000).”
BackgroundMuris, P., Merckelbach, H. L. G. J., & Luijten, M. (2002) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/s0005-7967(00)00115-7 · Cited by 55
Self-citationFarrell, L. J., Miyamoto, T., Donovan, C. L., Waters, A. M., Krisch, K. A., & Ollendick, T. H. (2020) · Behavior Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.beth.2020.06.003 · Cited by 54
How serious are common childhood fears? II. The parent's point of view
Muris, P., & Merckelbach, H. L. G. J. (2000) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/s0005-7967(99)00119-9 · Cited by 48
Self-citationNeumann, D. L., Waters, A. M., Westbury, H. R., & Henry, J. (2008) · Biological Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2008.08.005 · Cited by 46
“Neumann and Waters (2006) also observed a decline in TIRs across acquisition in a sample of adults.”
Raes, A. K., Houwer, J. D., Schryver, M. D., Braß, M., & Kalisch, R. (2014) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0084888 · Cited by 44
“supported by several retrospective studies in which observation and instruction were identified as common sources of fear in children [2–5].”
Fears and Fearfulness in South-African Children
Burkhardt, K., Loxton, H., & Muris, P. (2003) · Behaviour Change · doi:10.1375/bech.20.2.94.24837 · Cited by 44
Self-citationThe Assessment of Normal Fear in Children and Adolescents
Gullone, E. (1999) · Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review · doi:10.1023/a:1021895630678 · Cited by 41
“Looking only at the most commonly reported fears, Muris, Merckelbach, and Collaris (1997) asked children, on an individual basis, "What do you fear most?".”
BackgroundTomažič, I. (2011) · Society and Animals · doi:10.1163/156853011x578901 · Cited by 40
“The questionnaire first required students to complete two open-ended questions (Muris et al., 1997) and list four animals that they feared and four”
BackgroundInfluentialContemporary Fears of Children and Adolescents: Coping and Resiliency in the 21st Century
Burnham, J. J. (2009) · Journal of Counseling & Development · doi:10.1002/j.1556-6678.2009.tb00546.x · Cited by 41
What is the Revised Fear Survey Schedule for Children measuring?
Muris, P., Merckelbach, H. L. G. J., Ollendick, T. H., King, N. J., Meesters, C. M. G., & van Kessel, C. (2002) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/s0005-7967(02)00007-4 · Cited by 42
“In contrast, when using the FSSC-R, children clearly scored highest on fears found on the danger and death factor (see for similar results Lane & Gullone, 1999; Muris, Merckelbach, & Collaris, 1997a ).”
MethodSelf-citationScaring the Monster Away: What Children Know About Managing Fears of Real and Imaginary Creatures
Sayfan, L., & Lagattuta, K. H. (2009) · Child Development · doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2009.01366.x · Cited by 45
Common fears and their relationship to anxiety disorders symptomatology in normal children
Muris, P., Merckelbach, H. L. G. J., Mayer, B., & Meesters, C. M. G. (1998) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/s0191-8869(97)00190-6 · Cited by 35
Self-citationMeltzer, H., Vostanis, P., Dogra, N., Doos, L., Ford, T., & Goodman, R. (2009) · Child: Care, Health and Development · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2214.2008.00908.x · Cited by 46
Studying Fears in Young Children
Lahikainen, A. R., Kirmanen, T., Kraav, I., & Taimalu, M. (2003) · Childhood · doi:10.1177/0907568203010001005 · Cited by 32
“Elbedour et al., 1997; King et al., 1994; Lentz, 1985a; Muris et al., 1997a, 1997b ), we found that fears of animals are very common among children.”
BackgroundMethodResultInfluentialEmpirical fear profiles among American youth
Schaefer, B. A., Watkins, M. W., & Burnham, J. J. (2003) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/s0005-7967(02)00258-9 · Cited by 32
“However, other methods of assessing fears among youth typically fail to find the death and danger theme to be most salient (Lane & Gullone, 1999; Muris et al., 1997).”
MethodMuris, P., Huijding, J., Mayer, B., Leemreis, W. H., Passchier, S., & Bouwmeester, S. (2009) · Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology · doi:10.1080/15374410902976379 · Cited by 29
“Most of the evidence is based on studies that examined children's subjective reports to the question whether negative information had played a role in the onset or exacerbation of their main fear or phobia (eg, Muris, Merckelbach, & Collaris, 1997 ; Ollendick & King, 1991 ).”
BackgroundSelf-citationOrigins of common fears in South African children
Muris, P., du Plessis, M., & Loxton, H. (2008) · Journal of Anxiety Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2008.03.004 · Cited by 27
Self-citationThe“normal” development of fear
Muris, P., & Field, A. P. (2011) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511994920.005 · Cited by 27
Self-citationMuris, P., Huijding, J., Mayer, B., van As, W., & van Alem, S. (2010) · Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jbtep.2010.11.006 · Cited by 26
Self-citationFliek, L., Dibbets, P., Roelofs, J., & Muris, P. (2016) · Child Psychiatry & Human Development · doi:10.1007/s10578-016-0655-2 · Cited by 25
“[11], children were first asked to identify their main object of fear, after which they had to indicate to what extent modeling and threat information transmission had played a role in the origins of that fear.”
BackgroundSelf-citationThe etiology of childhood spider phobia
Merckelbach, H. L. G. J., & Muris, P. (1997) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/s0005-7967(97)00054-5 · Cited by 23
Self-citationFacing Your Fear in Immersive Virtual Reality: Avoidance Behavior in Specific Phobia
Binder, F. P., Pöhlchen, D., Zwanzger, P., & Spoormaker, V. I. (2022) · Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2022.827673 · Cited by 22
“Around one third of the population has a strong dislike of spiders (Davey, 1991; Muris et al., 1997) with females being more affected than males, at rates of 5:1 (Fredrikson et al., 1996).”
BackgroundWorry, General Self-Efficacy and School Achievement: An Exploratory Study With Chinese Adolescents
Tang, N. Y. Y., & Westwood, P. S. (2007) · Australian Journal of Guidance and Counselling · doi:10.1375/ajgc.17.1.68 · Cited by 22
“…1985; MacMullin & Odeh, 1999); but other significant worries arising during childhood and adolescence are related to issues that arise within the context of school (Christie Australian Journal of Guidance & Counselling Volume 17 Number 1 2007▲ & MacMullin, 1998; Muris et al., 1997; Orton, 1982).”
BackgroundChanges in facial electromyographic activity in spider-phobic girls after psychotherapy
Leutgeb, V., & Schienle, A. (2012) · Journal of Psychiatric Research · doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2012.02.017 · Cited by 21
“Moreover, spiders are known to possess highly fear-inducing properties in children (Muris et al., 1997).”
BackgroundChristie, E., & MacMullin, C. (1998) · Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools · doi:10.1017/s103729110000371x · Cited by 21
Seehagen, S., Margraf, J., & Schneider, S. (2014) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781118775349.ch10 · Cited by 20
The living environment and children's fears following the Indonesian tsunami
Du, Y. B., Lee, C., Christina, D., Belfer, M., Betancourt, T., O'Rourke, E., & Palfrey, J. (2011) · Disasters. The Journal of Disaster Studies, Policy and Management · doi:10.1111/j.1467-7717.2011.01271.x · Cited by 19
“In past studies, the fear of animals and the fear of death and danger, which would include environmental hazards such as the tsunami, were the most prevalent among children and adolescents (Gullone and King, 1992; Muris, Merckelback, and Collaris, 1997; Muris et al., 2000).”
BackgroundBouchard, S., St-Jacques, J., Robillard, G., & Renaud, P. (2007) · Journal de Thérapie Comportementale et Cognitive · doi:10.1016/s1155-1704(07)73238-x · Cited by 19
Nighttime Fears and Fantasy–Reality Differentiation in Preschool Children
Zisenwine, T., Kaplan, M., Kushnir, J., & Sadeh, A. (2012) · Child Psychiatry & Human Development · doi:10.1007/s10578-012-0318-x · Cited by 18
“[15] concluded that modeling is a crucial etiological factor regarding children’s general fear level, but when it comes to specific fears, conditioning becomes the main factor.”
BackgroundRemmerswaal, D., Muris, P., & Huijding, J. (2013) · Behavior Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.beth.2013.01.001 · Cited by 16
Self-citationChild dental fear in low-income and non-low-income families: A school-based survey study
Lin, Y., Yen, Y., Chen, H.-S., Liu, Y., Chang, C.-S., Chen, C., Chen, F., Hsu, C., Lee, C., Hu, C., et al. (2013) · Journal of Dental Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.jds.2013.02.022 · Cited by 15
Examining Children's Fears in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
Burnham, J. J., Hooper, L. M., Edwards, E. E., Tippey, J. M., McRaney, A., Morrison, M. A., Underwood, J. W., & Woodroof, E. (2008) · Journal of Psychological Trauma · doi:10.1080/19322880802492229 · Cited by 14
“Based on suggestions from the literature ( Gullone, 1999 ; Lane & Gullone, 1999 ; McCathie & Spence, 1991 ; Muris, Merckelbach, & Collaris, 1997 ; Muris, Merckelbach, Meesters, & Van Lier, 1997 ), the open-ended question preceded the FSSC–AM for the Hurricane Katrina study to keep fear bias at a minimum.”
MethodMonsters in the dark and other scary things: preschoolers' self-reports
Loxton, H. (2009) · Journal of Child and Adolescent Mental Health · doi:10.2989/jcamh.2009.21.1.7.809 · Cited by 13
“The results of the open question method support this argument (Muris et al. 1997; Burkhardt 2002).”
MethodResultFather's and mother's beliefs about children's anxiety
Beato, A. F., Barros, L., & Pereira, A. I. (2018) · Child Care Health and Development · doi:10.1111/cch.12603 · Cited by 12
The origins of mental contamination
Zysk, E., Shafran, R., & Williams, T. I. (2017) · Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jocrd.2017.08.007 · Cited by 12
Spider Fear Versus Scorpion Fear in Undergraduate Students at Five American Universities
Vetter, R. S., Draney, M. L., Brown, C. A., Trumble, J. T., Gouge, D. H., Hinkle, N. C., & Pace-Schott, E. F. (2018) · American Entomologist · doi:10.1093/ae/tmy030 · Cited by 12
O'Donnell, A. W., Neumann, D., Duffy, A. L., & Paolini, S. (2019) · Social & Personality Psychology Compass · doi:10.1111/spc3.12442 · Cited by 14
Assessment instruments of darkness phobia in children and adolescents: A descriptive review
Orgilés, M., & Espada, J. P. (2008) · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Cited by 12
An empirical taxonomy of youths' fears: Cluster analysis of the American fear survey schedule
Burnham, J. J., Schaefer, B. A., & Giesen, J. (2006) · Psychology in the Schools · doi:10.1002/pits.20178 · Cited by 11
Children as change agents in reducing risks of disasters
Rashid, M., Ronan, K. R., & Towers, B. (2016) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9781315671970-26 · Cited by 11
Children's Fears: A Survey of Italian Children Ages 6 to 10 Years
Salcuni, S., Riso, D. D., Mazzeschi, C., & Lis, A. (2009) · Psychological Reports · doi:10.2466/pr0.104.3.971-988 · Cited by 11
An Experimental Study of Spider-Related Covariation Bias in 8- to 13-Year-Old Children
Muris, P., de Jong, P. J., Meesters, C. M. G., Waterreus, B., & vanLubeck, J. (2005) · Child Psychiatry & Human Development · doi:10.1007/s10578-004-6457-y · Cited by 10
Self-citationCultural Effects on the Expression of Some Fears by Chinese and British Female Students
Higgins, L. (2004) · The Journal of Genetic Psychology · doi:10.3200/gntp.165.1.37-50 · Cited by 10
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in a One-Session Treatment for a Preschooler With Specific Phobias
Kershaw, H., Farrell, L. J., Donovan, C. L., & Ollendick, T. H. (2017) · Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy · doi:10.1891/0889-8391.31.1.7 · Cited by 9
“, 2009), and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy (Muris et al., 1997; Muris, Merckelbach, Holdrinet, & Sijsenaar, 1998).”
Serim-Yıldız, B., & Erdur‐Baker, Ö. (2013) · The Journal of Genetic Psychology · doi:10.1080/00221325.2012.678420 · Cited by 8
Take a Public Speaking Course and Conquer the Fear
Dwyer, K. K., & Davidson, M. M. (2021) · Journal of Education and Educational Development · doi:10.22555/joeed.v8i2.456 · Cited by 7
Klassifikation, Epidemiologie und diagnostisches Vorgehen
Essau, C. A., Conradt, J., & Reiss, B. (2004) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-642-18499-4_5 · Cited by 6
‘It's the sight not the bite’: A model and reinterpretation of visually-based developmental fears
Berger, M. (2010) · Clinical Psychology Review · doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2010.06.002 · Cited by 5
Michalčáková, R. N., Lacinová, L., Kyjonková, H., Bouša, O., & Jelínek, M. (2013) · The Journal of Early Adolescence · doi:10.1177/0272431613485820 · Cited by 5
“This is in line with results reported by Muris, Merckelbach, and Collaris (1997) and Muris, Merckelbach, Meesters et al. (1997).”
ResultInvestigating Childhood Fears During Preschool Period in Terms of Child, Mother and Teacher Opinions
Önder, A., Küsmüs, G. İ., & Cengiz, O. (2018) · European Journal of Educational Research · doi:10.12973/eu-jer.7.4.973 · Cited by 5
The origins of fears in a selected group of middle childhood South African children
du Plessis, M. (2006) · SUNScholar (Stellenbosch University) · Cited by 5
Adams, T. G., Sawchuk, C. N., Cisler, J. M., Lohr, J. M., & Olatunji, B. O. (2014) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781118775349.ch18 · Cited by 5
The Child PTSD Symptom Scale in Abused Children: Criteria for Diagnosis
Espinosa, R., Concepion, L. S., de Castro, M. V., Martínez, A. G., Lopez, J. A., Cervera, I. P. R., Fernandez, V., & Alcántara, M. V. (2018) · Journal of Mental Disorders and Treatment · doi:10.4172/2471-271x.1000154 · Cited by 5
“To obtain evidence of concurrent validity, a previous study was performed with some of the abused minors who make up this research (N=50), who were given the following scales: the Children's Impact of Traumatic Events scale (CITES-R) (SCARED-R) [57] and the Impact of Event Scale (IES) and CPSS.”
Threat cues in metal’s visual code
Watier, N. N. (2022) · Metal Music Studies · doi:10.1386/mms_00075_1 · Cited by 4
Kandemir-Ozdinc, N., & Erdur‐Baker, Ö. (2013) · Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.06.565 · Cited by 4
Lasten TV-ohjelmiin liittyvät pelot, painajaisunet ja pelonhallinta
Korhonen, P. (2008) · Tampere University Institutional Repository (Tampere University) · Cited by 4
Lord, J. A. (2009) · Unisa Institutional Repository (University of South Africa) · Cited by 4
Children`s Fears and Coping Strategies: a Comparative Perspective
Taimalu, M. (2007) · DSpace repository (University of Tartu) · Cited by 4
Classification of Anxiety Disorders in Children and Adolescents
Essau, C. A., Olaya, B., & Ollendick, T. H. (2012) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781118315088.ch1 · Cited by 4
How children make sense of fear of the dark: a qualitative study of Russian preschoolers
McCready, M., Wiseman, M., Armstrong, J., & Witherington, D. C. (2024) · Early Child Development and Care · doi:10.1080/03004430.2024.2404009 · Cited by 3
“This aligns well with the idea that the main source of nighttime fears derives from TV and children ’ s books (Muris, Merckelbach, & Collaris, 1997, 2001) but deviates signi fi cantly from the only major study of Russian children ’ s fears conducted by Zaharov (2000), in which creatures from Russian…”
The Common Fears and Their Origins Among Turkish Children and Adolescents
Serim-Yıldız, B., Erdur‐Baker, Ö., & Bugay, A. (2013) · Behaviour Change · doi:10.1017/bec.2013.18 · Cited by 3
“The common fears and their origins were measured via questions based on a previous study by Muris et al. (1997).”
BackgroundMethodResultInfluentialAge Differences in Information Processing Biases in Spider Fear
Smith-Janik, S. B., Green, J. S., & Teachman, B. A. (2013) · International Journal of Cognitive Therapy · doi:10.1521/ijct.2013.6.4.401 · Cited by 3
Spiders, bullies, monsters or terrorists: What scares Australian children?
Gilmore, L., & Campbell, M. A. (2007) · Children Australia · doi:10.1017/s1035077200011640 · Cited by 3
Children's fears 2–13 months after sibling NICU/PICU/emergency department death
Roche, R. M., Brooten, D. A., & Youngblut, J. M. (2019) · Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners · doi:10.1097/jxx.0000000000000193 · Cited by 3
“Gender differences about fears have been reported by Muris et al. (1997). Girls exhibited more fears and anxiety than boys, and tended to fear different situations and objects.”
BackgroundSuminar, I. T., Gamayanti, I. L., & Lusmilasari, L. (2017) · Belitung Nursing Journal · doi:10.33546/bnj.111 · Cited by 3
An assessment instrument for fear in middle childhood South African children.
Burkhardt, I. K.-E. (2007) · SUNScholar (Stellenbosch University) · Cited by 3
Coss, R. G., & Blozis, S. A. (2021) · Evolutionary Psychological Science · doi:10.1007/s40806-021-00289-7 · Cited by 2
Lee-O’Loughlin, C. (2014) · Scholar: Human Sciences · Cited by 2
Associative Learning Processes in the Formation of Intergroup Anxiety and Avoidance in Society
O'Donnell, A. W., Neumann, D. L., & Duffy, A. L. (2020) · Psychological Reports · doi:10.1177/0033294120965472 · Cited by 2
“Therapists often ask clients to recall previous experiences with the feared stimuli when treating specific phobias and researchers have relied on memories of aversive events to validate aversive conditioning as an antecedent to clinical phobias (Muris et al., 1997; € Ost & Hugdahl, 1981).”
BackgroundThe Effect of Positive Verbal Information on Reducing Fears About Bats in School-Aged Children
Williams, K. (2014) · ScholarWorks (Walden University) · Cited by 2
Zwemstra, P. J. (2008) · SUNScholar (Stellenbosch University) · Cited by 2
Michael, B. J. (2008) · SUNScholar (Stellenbosch University) · Cited by 2
Trimarchi, L., Waters, A. M., Simcock, G., & Farrell, L. J. (2025) · Journal of Child and Family Studies · doi:10.1007/s10826-025-03040-z · Cited by 1
Metadata
- Authors
- Muris, P., Merckelbach, H., & Collaris, R.
- Affiliations
- Maastricht University (NL)
- Venue
- Behaviour Research and Therapy
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 1997-10
- Volume
- 35
- Issue
- 10
- Pages
- 929-937
- ISSN
- 0005-7967 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2128569660
- Cited by
- 126
- References
- 21
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 4
- FWCI
- 6.84
- 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 › Clinical Psychology › Child Therapy and Development
- Keywords
- children's fears, conditioning, spider phobia, modeling, information acquisition, children
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Animals, Child, Conditioning, Psychological, Fear, Female, Humans, Imitative Behavior, Male, Personality Assessment, Personality Development, Spiders
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