The DOI matches its Crossref record; 100 of the 100 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Specific phobias
Open accessAbstract
Anxiety disorders are among the most prevalent mental disorders, but the subcategory of specific phobias has not been well studied. Phobias involve both fear and avoidance. For people who have specific phobias, avoidance can reduce the constancy and severity of distress and impairment. However, these phobias are important because of their early onset and strong persistence over time. Studies indicate that the lifetime prevalence of specific phobias around the world ranges from 3% to 15%, with fears and phobias concerning heights and animals being the most common. The developmental course of phobias, which progress from fear to avoidance and then to diagnosis, suggests the possibility that interrupting the course of phobias could reduce their prevalence. Although specific phobias often begin in childhood, their incidence peaks during midlife and old age. Phobias persist for several years or even decades in 10-30% of cases, and are strongly predictive of onset of other anxiety, mood, and substance-use disorders. Their high comorbidity with other mental disorders, especially after onset of the phobia, suggests that early treatment of phobias could also alter the risk of other disorders. Exposure therapy remains the treatment of choice, although this approach might be less effective in the long term than previously believed. This Review discusses the literature regarding the prevalence, incidence, course, risk factors, and treatment of specific phobias, and presents epidemiological data from several population-based surveys.
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“Arachnophobia is a common source of anxiety within the general population [6].”
From Virtual reality exposure therapy for fear of spiders: an open trial and feasibility study of a new treatment for arachnophobia (2024) · cites this paper as [6]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“Over time, these mechanisms cause a reduction or avoidance of health care services including preventive measures (9, 29, 31).”
From Combined Fainting and Psychogenic Non-epileptic Seizures as Significant Therapy Hurdles in Blood-Injury-Injection Phobia: A Mini-Review and Case Report (2022) · cites this paper as [9]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“BII phobia is a unique entity featuring intense fear and frequently fainting at the sight or anticipation of blood, physical injury that could lead to blood loss, or injection (9, 28, 29).”
From Combined Fainting and Psychogenic Non-epileptic Seizures as Significant Therapy Hurdles in Blood-Injury-Injection Phobia: A Mini-Review and Case Report (2022) · cites this paper as [9]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“A recent meta-analysis demonstrated a 41% heritability for blood-related fear and 33% for BII phobia, making it the most heritable specific phobia (9, 48).”
From Combined Fainting and Psychogenic Non-epileptic Seizures as Significant Therapy Hurdles in Blood-Injury-Injection Phobia: A Mini-Review and Case Report (2022) · cites this paper as [9]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe check wasn’t confident either way, so it gives no verdict — never disputed.
In the citing paper
“However, in the case of phobia relating to blood, injury, and injection (BII), studies identified a distinct pathophysiological mechanism (9, 21–28)”
From Combined Fainting and Psychogenic Non-epileptic Seizures as Significant Therapy Hurdles in Blood-Injury-Injection Phobia: A Mini-Review and Case Report (2022) · cites this paper as [9]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cites
Kessler, R. C., Berglund, P., Demler, O., Jin, R., Merikangas, K. R., & Walters, E. E. (2005) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.62.6.593 · Cited by 20,391
Depression and quality of life in older persons: A review
Sivertsen, H., Bjørkløf, G. H., Engedal, K., Selbæk, G., & Helvik, A.-S. (2015) · Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders · doi:10.1159/000437299 · Cited by 14,152
Robins, L. N. (1981) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1981.01780290015001 · Cited by 5,219
Kessler, R. C., & Üstün, T. B. (2004) · International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research · doi:10.1002/mpr.168 · Cited by 4,771
Psychiatric disorders in America: the epidemiologic catchment area study
(1991) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.28-5931 · Cited by 2,561
Lifetime Prevalence of Specific Psychiatric Disorders in Three Sites
Robins, L. N. (1984) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1984.01790210031005 · Cited by 2,550
Kendler, K. S., Prescott, C. A., Myers, J., & Neale, M. C. (2003) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.60.9.929 · Cited by 1,868
The ESEMeD/MHEDEA 2000 Investigators, Alonso, J., Angermeyer, M. C., Bernert, S., Bruffaerts, R., Brugha, T. S., Bryson, H., de Girolamo, G., de Graaf, R., Demyttenaere, K., et al. (2004) · Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica · doi:10.1111/j.1600-0047.2004.00327.x · Cited by 1,825
Context, ambiguity, and unlearning: sources of relapse after behavioral extinction
Bouton, M. E. (2002) · Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/s0006-3223(02)01546-9 · Cited by 1,662
Psychiatric disorders in America
Robins, L. N. (1991) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 1,567
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Diet and Anxiety: A Scoping Review
Aucoin, M., LaChance, L., Naidoo, U., Remy, D., Shekdar, T., Sayar, N., Cardozo, V., Rawana, T., Chan, I., & Cooley, K. (2021) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu13124418 · Cited by 248
Scary and nasty beasts: Self‐reported fear and disgust of common phobic animals
Polák, J., Rádlová, S., Janovcová, M., Jaroslav Flegr, A., Landová, E., & Frynta, D. (2019) · British Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjop.12409 · Cited by 135
Why do so many modern people hate insects? The urbanization–disgust hypothesis
Fukano, Y., & Soga, M. (2021) · The Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146229 · Cited by 145
The study of active avoidance: a platform for discussion
Diehl, M. M., Bravo-Rivera, C., & Quirk, G. J. (2019) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.09.010 · Cited by 95
Anxiety and Depressive Disorders in Children Born Preterm: A Meta-Analysis
Fitzallen, G. C., Sagar, Y. K., Taylor, H. G., & Bora, S. (2021) · Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics · doi:10.1097/dbp.0000000000000898 · Cited by 64
The role of carbonic anhydrases in extinction of contextual fear memory
Schmidt, S. D., Costa, A., Rani, B., Nachtigall, E. G., Passani, M. B., Carta, F., Nocentini, A., Myskiw, J. D. C., Furini, C. R. G., Supuran, C. T., et al. (2020) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1910690117 · Cited by 49
Zimmer, A., Wang, N., Ibach, M. K., Fehlmann, B., Schicktanz, N., Bentz, D., Michael, T., Papassotiropoulos, A., & de Quervain, D. D. (2021) · Journal of Anxiety Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2021.102442 · Cited by 44
Nature relatedness: A protective factor for snake and spider fears and phobias
Zsido, A. N., Coelho, C. M., & Polák, J. (2022) · People and Nature · doi:10.1002/pan3.10303 · Cited by 45
Orellana, J. D. Y., Ribeiro, M. R. C., Barbieri, M. A., Saraiva, M. D. C. P., Cardoso, V. C., Bettiol, H., da Sílva, A. A. M., Barros, F. C., Gonçalves, H., Wehrmeister, F. C., et al. (2020) · Cadernos de Saúde Pública · doi:10.1590/0102-311x00154319 · Cited by 56
The searchscape of fear: A global analysis of internet search trends for biophobias
Correia, R. A., & Mammola, S. (2023) · People and Nature · doi:10.1002/pan3.10497 · Cited by 43
Bentz, D., Wang, N., Ibach, M. K., Schicktanz, N. S., Zimmer, A., Papassotiropoulos, A., & de Quervain, D. J. F. (2021) · npj Digital Medicine · doi:10.1038/s41746-021-00387-7 · Cited by 34
Odgers, K., Kershaw, K. A., Li, S. H., & Graham, B. M. (2022) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2022.104203 · Cited by 35
Rádlová, S., Polák, J., Janovcová, M., Sedláčková, K., Peléšková, Š., Landová, E., & Frynta, D. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00031 · Cited by 35
“, 2016), which accounts for one of the most prevalent specific phobias (Eaton et al., 2018; cf average prevalence of any animal phobia across the world is estimated to 3.8%, Wardenaar et al., 2017).”
BackgroundInfluentialAugmenting Exposure Therapy: Mobile Augmented Reality for Specific Phobia
Witte, N. A. J. D., Scheveneels, S., Sels, R., Debard, G., Hermans, D., & Daele, T. V. (2020) · Frontiers in Virtual Reality · doi:10.3389/frvir.2020.00008 · Cited by 31
“Specific phobia refers to a persistent unreasonable fear concerning a specific object or situation, which is accompanied by avoidance of the object or situation and results in clinically significant distress or impairment (Eaton et al., 2018).”
BackgroundFrumento, S., Menicucci, D., Hitchcott, P. K., Zaccaro, A., & Gemignani, A. (2021) · Frontiers in Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnins.2021.654170 · Cited by 30
“, 2015) and dropouts (Eaton et al., 2018) has been reported.”
BackgroundPizzoli, S. F. M., Monzani, D., Vergani, L., Sanchini, V., & Mazzocco, K. (2021) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-021-02158-9 · Cited by 32
Dental fear, anxiety, and phobia; causes, diagnostic criteria and the medical and social impact
Avramova, N. (2022) · Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences · doi:10.22543/2392-7674.1348 · Cited by 37
Biophobia: What it is, how it works and why it matters
Soga, M., & Evans, M. J. (2024) · People and Nature · doi:10.1002/pan3.10647 · Cited by 39
Anxiety disorders: Treatments, models, and circuitry mechanisms
Ren, L., Fan, Y., Wu, W., Qian, Y., He, M., Li, X., Wang, Y., Yang, Y., Wen, X., Zhang, R., et al. (2024) · European Journal of Pharmacology · doi:10.1016/j.ejphar.2024.176994 · Cited by 35
Current and future directions of drug delivery for the treatment of mental illnesses
Brewster, P. R., Bari, S. M. I., Walker, G. M., & Werfel, T. A. (2023) · Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.addr.2023.114824 · Cited by 28
Azimisefat, P., de Jongh, A., Rajabi, S., Kanske, P., & Jamshidi, F. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.919148 · Cited by 26
“Anxiety disorders are among the most prevalent mental health conditions, and specific phobia is one of the most prevalent anxiety disorder (Eaton et al., 2018).”
BackgroundRoesmann, K., Leehr, E. J., Böhnlein, J., Gathmann, B., Herrmann, M. J., Junghöfer, M., Schwarzmeier, H., Seeger, F. R., Siminski, N., Straube, T., et al. (2023) · Journal of Anxiety Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2023.102790 · Cited by 27
Faster detection of snake and spider phobia: revisited
Polák, J., Sedláčková, K., Landová, E., & Frynta, D. (2020) · Heliyon · doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e03968 · Cited by 21
Prevalence of Mental Disorders in Patients With Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension
Dering, M.-R., Lepsy, N., Fuge, J., Meltendorf, T., Hoeper, M. M., Heitland, I., Kamp, J. C., Park, D., Richter, M. J., Gall, H. J., et al. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2022.821466 · Cited by 22
Kuleli, D., Tyson, P. J., Davies, N., & Zeng, B. (2025) · Journal of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.jbct.2025.100524 · Cited by 28
Jurcik, T., Zaremba-Pike, S., Kosonogov, V., Mohammed, A., Krasavtseva, Y. V., Sawada, T., Samarina, I., Шавкатовна, Б. Н., Adu, P., Sergeev, N., et al. (2024) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1214125 · Cited by 20
“Moreover, existing research in this area, largely conducted in the West, may not apply directly to non-Western contexts due to cultural variations in spider beliefs and potential differences in spider phobia prevalence (Prokop et al., 2010; Eaton et al., 2018).”
BackgroundResultAndersson, J., Hallin, J., Tingström, A., & Knutsson, J. (2024) · Nordic Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1080/08039488.2023.2279643 · Cited by 18
“…prevalence of approximately 5%, occurring somewhat more frequently in women than men [2,4,5] Specific phobias, including AP, often develop quite early in life and their presence is associated with an increased risk of developing other anxiety disorders and depression across the lifespan [6].”
BackgroundPandemic and mental adjustment disorders. Therapy options
Vasileva, A. V. (2020) · S S Korsakov Journal of Neurology and Psychiatry · doi:10.17116/jnevro2020120051146 · Cited by 20
Cued Fear Conditioning in Carioca High- and Low-Conditioned Freezing Rats
Macêdo-Souza, C., Maisonnette, S. S., Filgueiras, C. C., Landeira-Fernández, J., & Krahe, T. E. (2020) · Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2019.00285 · Cited by 18
“Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD; Tyrer and Baldwin, 2006) and specific phobia (Eaton et al., 2018) are two of the most common AD (Wolitzky-Taylor et al.”
BackgroundHinze, J., Röder, A., Menzie, N., Müller, U., Domschke, K., Riemenschneider, M. J., & Noll‐Hussong, M. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2021.704174 · Cited by 24
Brain Mechanisms Underlying Panic Attack and Panic Disorder
Guan, X., & Cao, P. (2023) · Neuroscience Bulletin · doi:10.1007/s12264-023-01088-9 · Cited by 22
“Fear-related psychiatric disorders, including specific phobias and agoraphobia, for which there are no effective medications, can be cured to some extent by exposure therapy [9].”
Alzahrani, A. A., AlQahtani, B. G., Bayazeed, M. A., & Mahfouz, M. (2025) · BMJ Neurology Open · doi:10.1136/bmjno-2024-001009 · Cited by 16
“…as an irrational and excessive fear that leads to avoidance, even when the individual has the capacity or knowledge to manage the situation 31–33 On reviewing the included studies and their survey instruments, it is evident that most do not explicitly distinguish between irrational fear and…”
Anxiety in autistic preschool children: Phenomenology and a network analysis of correlates
Vasa, R. A., Kerns, C. M., Singh, V., McDonald, R. G., Jang, Y. S., & Keefer, A. J. (2023) · Autism Research · doi:10.1002/aur.2968 · Cited by 16
An intricate relationship between circadian rhythm dysfunction and psychiatric diseases
Samanta, S., & Bagchi, D. (2024) · Exploration of neuroscience · doi:10.37349/en.2024.00053 · Cited by 16
Adamczyk, A. K., Wyczesany, M., Roelofs, K., & van Peer, J. M. (2023) · Psychophysiology · doi:10.1111/psyp.14316 · Cited by 15
Anxiety and Related Disorders During the Perinatal Period
Fairbrother, N., Challacombe, F. L., Green, S. M., & O’Mahen, H. (2025) · Annual Review of Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-081423-020126 · Cited by 20
Mor, S., Grimaldos, J., Tur, C., Miguel, C., Cuijpers, P. J., Botella, C., & Quero, S. (2021) · Internet Interventions · doi:10.1016/j.invent.2021.100462 · Cited by 18
Perceptually Visible but Emotionally Subliminal Stimuli to Improve Exposure Therapies
Frumento, S., Gemignani, A., & Menicucci, D. (2022) · Brain Sciences · doi:10.3390/brainsci12070867 · Cited by 15
Landová, E., Rádlová, S., Pidnebesna, A., Tomeček, D., Janovcová, M., Peléšková, Š., Sedláčková, K., Štolhoferová, I., Polák, J., Hlinka, J., et al. (2023) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1196785 · Cited by 13
Assessing public acceptance of urban air mobility: Behavioral insights
Nazari, F., Noruzoliaee, M., & Habib, K. N. (2025) · Journal of Air Transport Management · doi:10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102907 · Cited by 12
Alwakeel, A. M., Alwakeel, M. M., Zahra, S. R., Saleem, T. J., Hijji, M., Alwakeel, A. M., Alwakeel, A. M., & Alzorgi, S. (2023) · Diagnostics · doi:10.3390/diagnostics13061082 · Cited by 15
Augmented reality exposure treatments in anxiety and related disorders: A systematic review
Grimaldos, J., Fernández-Buendía, S., Bretón-López, J., Miguel, C., Cuijpers, P., & Quero, S. (2025) · Internet Interventions · doi:10.1016/j.invent.2025.100812 · Cited by 12
“Moreover, regarding the type of phobias, most studies focused on spider and cockroach phobias, which also is in line with the fact that animal phobias are the most common subtype of specific phobias (Eaton et al., 2018).”
Meyerbröker, K., Nexhmedin Morina, B., KERKHOF, G. A., & Emmelkamp, P. M. G. (2022) · Cognitive Therapy and Research · doi:10.1007/s10608-021-10269-7 · Cited by 13
“About 7% of individuals suffer from specific phobias during their life-time (Eaton et al., 2018).”
BackgroundLeuchter, M. K., Rosenberg, B. M., Schapira, G., Wong, N. R., Leuchter, A. F., McGlade, A. L., Krantz, D. E., Ginder, N. D., Lee, J. C., Wilke, S. A., et al. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2022.823158 · Cited by 10
Investigating the Psychometric Properties of the Severity Measure for Specific Phobia
MacLeod, S., Schneider, L. H., & McCabe, R. E. (2022) · Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment · doi:10.1007/s10862-022-09976-6 · Cited by 15
Kiss, B. L., Birkás, B., Zilahi, L., & Zsido, A. N. (2022) · Heliyon · doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e11839 · Cited by 13
Woronko, S. E., Jessup, S. C., Armstrong, T., Anwyl-Irvine, A. L., Dalmaijer, E. S., & Olatunji, B. O. (2023) · Journal of Anxiety Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2023.102700 · Cited by 10
Khaleghi, A., Narimani, A., Aghaei, Z., Banaraki, A. K., & Hassani‐Abharian, P. (2024) · JMIR Serious Games · doi:10.2196/34535 · Cited by 13
“Among the available treatments, exposure therapies are the most commonly used approach for specific phobias [6].”
BackgroundWhy does the brain matter for education?
Thomas, M. S. C., & Arslan, Y. (2024) · British Journal of Educational Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjep.12727 · Cited by 20
“But unless a therapist intervenes, we do not forget our phobias, such as a fear of spiders (Eaton et al., 2018; Herry et al., 2010; Kida, 2019; Milton, 2019).”
Fear of clowns: An investigation into the prevalence of coulrophobia in an international sample
Tyson, P. J., Davies, S. K., Scorey, S., & Greville, W. J. (2022) · International Journal of Mental Health · doi:10.1080/00207411.2022.2046925 · Cited by 9
“, 2017: Eaton et al., 2018). Females reported a higher incidence of clown fear in our study, and a higher severity of fear compared to male participants. This is consistent with prior research on fear of clowns specifically (e.g. Meiri et al., 2017) and for other specific phobias more generally, e.g., for snakes and s…”
BackgroundResultInfluentialExpectations of objective threats and aversive feelings in specific fears
Elsey, J. W. B., & Kindt, M. (2021) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-021-00317-3 · Cited by 10
Developmental associations between risk-taking and anxiety symptoms across ages 8–12 years
Tieskens, J. M., Buil, J. M., Koot, S., & van Lier, P. A. C. (2021) · Child Development · doi:10.1111/cdev.13644 · Cited by 8
The research landscape of direct, sensory human–nature interactions
Evans, M. J., Gaston, K. J., Cox, D. T. C., & Soga, M. (2023) · People and Nature · doi:10.1002/pan3.10556 · Cited by 10
Cognitive and body manifestations of driving anxiety according to different onsets
Hidalgo-Muñoz, A. R., Evennou, M., Collette, B., Stephens, A. N., Jallais, C., & Fort, A. (2021) · Anxiety Stress & Coping · doi:10.1080/10615806.2021.1931144 · Cited by 8
“In the case of people who did not identify the onset, this is also in agreement with research dealing with specific phobias, since people usually reported that fear was felt from childhood or adolescence without recognizing a clear beginning (Eaton et al., 2018).”
BackgroundResultNikolaev, V. A., & Nikolaev, A. A. (2020) · Medical Technologies Assessment and Choice · doi:10.17116/medtech20204002135 · Cited by 8
Tocophobia: a nosological quagmire
Sharma, V., & Sharma, S. (2023) · Archives of Women s Mental Health · doi:10.1007/s00737-023-01362-9 · Cited by 8
An internet-based treatment for flying phobia using 360° images: A feasibility pilot study
Mor, S., Botella, C., Campos, D., Carlbring, P., Tur, C., & Quero, S. (2022) · Internet Interventions · doi:10.1016/j.invent.2022.100510 · Cited by 7
DEMİR, M., & KÖSKÜN, T. (2023) · Psikiyatride Güncel Yaklaşımlar · doi:10.18863/pgy.1192543 · Cited by 7
Key factors behind various specific phobia subtypes
Zsido, A. N., Kiss, B. L., Basler, J., Birkás, B., & Coelho, C. M. (2023) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-023-49691-0 · Cited by 11
“The fact that the prevalence and intensity of most phobias tend to decrease with age 56 and that females are at higher risk of developing an SP is well-established 57 .”
BackgroundGeneralization of beneficial exposure effects to untreated stimuli from another fear category
Kodzaga, I., Dere, E., & Zlomuzica, A. (2023) · Translational Psychiatry · doi:10.1038/s41398-023-02698-7 · Cited by 7
Cho, I., Ahmed, O., Lee, D., Cho, E., Chung, S., & Günlü, A. (2022) · Psychiatry Investigation · doi:10.30773/pi.2022.0124 · Cited by 7
“10 For the fear developed against a situation or object to be defined as a phobia, it must be different and longer lasting than usual and temporary fear.”
BackgroundMor, S., Botella, C., Campos, D., Tur, C., Castilla, D., Soler, C., & Quero, S. (2021) · Internet Interventions · doi:10.1016/j.invent.2021.100387 · Cited by 6
“…as NCT03900559 and will be conducted following the CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) statement for pilot and feasibility studies (Eldridge et al., 2016), the CONSORT-EHEALTH guidelines (Eysenbach, 2011) and the SPIRIT guidelines (Standard Protocol Items: Recommendations S. Mor…”
MethodLack, C. W. (2024) · Psychiatric Clinics of North America · doi:10.1016/j.psc.2024.04.008 · Cited by 6
Frequency of and sex distribution in specific phobia subtypes in a treatment-seeking sample
Veale, D. M., Beeson, C., & Papageorgiou, A. (2025) · BJPsych Open · doi:10.1192/bjo.2025.10767 · Cited by 6
“14 Female sex and comorbid major depressive disorder were the strongest risk factors for phobia-related worry in one study, as well as traumatic experiences involving significant others, number of chronic diseases and comorbid substance use disorders.”
Anxiety Disorders in Evolutionary Perspective
Nesse, R. M. (2022) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781009030564.009 · Cited by 9
Effects of Augmented Reality Exposure Therapy Combined with Cognitive Intervention on Cat Phobia
Yapan, S., Şimşek, N., & Sütçigil, L. (2023) · International Journal of Cognitive Therapy · doi:10.1007/s41811-023-00169-x · Cited by 5
MeetingBenji: Tackling Cynophobia with Virtual Reality, Gamification, and Biofeedback
Alves, I., & Esteves, A. (2024) · ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology (VRST) · doi:10.1145/3641825.3687747 · Cited by 6
Beyond mental well-being: A One Health perspective on biophobias
Mammola, S., Nanni, V., Martino, S., Correia, R., Eckert, E. M., Norberg, M. M., & Soga, M. (2025) · BioScience · doi:10.1093/biosci/biaf084 · Cited by 8
“Some of the most common biophobias involve animals (Correia and Mammola 2024 , Zeller et al. 2025 ), with as many as 22% of individuals irra-tionally fearing insects, spiders, and other taxa (Eaton et al. 2018 ).”
Dinh, H. T., Nishimaru, H., Le, Q. V., Matsumoto, J., Setogawa, T., Maior, R. S., Tomaz, C. A. B., Ono, T., & Nishijo, H. (2021) · Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2021.653250 · Cited by 8
“Specific phobia is a type of anxiety disorder with a lifetime prevalence ranging from 3% to 15% across various countries (Eaton et al., 2018).”
BackgroundRuiz‐García, A., & Aguayo, L. V. (2021) · Clinical Case Studies · doi:10.1177/15346501211007208 · Cited by 6
“Email: aruiz@uco.es the phobic object actually appears or may be imagined to appear (Eaton et al., 2018; Ruiz-García & Valero-Aguayo, 2020a).”
BackgroundThe fear of spiders: perceptual features assessed in augmented reality
Frumento, S., Frumento, P., Laurino, M., Menicucci, D., & Gemignani, A. (2024) · Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2024.1355879 · Cited by 6
“The imbalance in favor of female participants (representing 28.1 and 71.9% of the sample, respectively) is in line with the higher prevalence of this specific phobia among women (Eaton et al., 2018).”
BackgroundResultInfluentialВладимирович, А. П., Belskaya, G. N., & Никифоров, И. А. (2021) · Meditsinskiy sovet = Medical Council · doi:10.21518/2079-701x-2021-10-66-79 · Cited by 7
Toffolo, M. B. J., Fehribach, J. R., van Klaveren, C., Cornelisz, I., van Straten, A., van Gelder, J., & Donker, T. (2022) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0271175 · Cited by 6
Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Swedish version of the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale
Höglund, M., Göranson, E., Wårdh, I., & Larsson, P. (2024) · Acta Odontologica Scandinavica · doi:10.2340/aos.v83.42436 · Cited by 5
“A patient’s level of dental anxiety varies on a continuous scale from none to extreme, and its most severe form can be considered a specific phobia [3].”
Ramdhan, D., Ardiyanto, E. R., Alexander, P., Putra, E. N., & David (2025) · Software Impacts · doi:10.1016/j.simpa.2025.100770 · Cited by 5
Toward a unified understanding of people’s aversion to nature: biophobia
Jensen, J. K., Persson, A. S., & Soga, M. (2025) · Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment · doi:10.1002/fee.70019 · Cited by 10
Self-reported fears and mental health in elementary school children across Europe
Husky, M. M., Bitfoi, A., Chan‐Chee, C., Carta, M. G., Goelitz, D., Koç, C., Lesinskienė, S., Mihova, Z., Otten, R., Shojaei, T., et al. (2021) · European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1007/s00787-021-01823-5 · Cited by 5
González-Lozoya, S. M., Meza-Kubo, V., Rodríguez, A. D., Ramírez-Fernández, C., & Morán, A. L. (2022) · TMS Proceedings 2021 · doi:10.1037/tms0000006 · Cited by 5
“Animal Phobia (AP), along with the phobia of heights are among the most common types of phobias in the general population, and it is one of the most common phobias in children, adolescents, and adults (Eaton et al., 2018).”
BackgroundImpact of distance learning on psycho-emotional state in schoolchildren in Krasnodar
Заболотских, Н. В., Vyrodova, E. Y., Dorosheva, A. O., Semerdzhyan, M. A., Simonian, N. E., Shamaeva, M. V., & Artyushkova, A. R. (2020) · Кубанский научный медицинский вестник · doi:10.25207/1608-6228-2020-27-6-109-122 · Cited by 5
von Mücke-Heim, I.-A., Walter, I., Nischwitz, S., & Erhardt, A. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2022.915058 · Cited by 4
Imprint of ancestral and modern threats in human mind – experience of fear, disgust, and anger
Landová, E., Polák, J., Janovcová, M., Štolhoferová, I., Peterková, Š., Chomik, A., & Frynta, D. (2025) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1520224 · Cited by 5
Salehi, M., Amanat, M., Khaleghi, A., Hooshyari, Z., Mostafavi, S., Ahmadi, N., Hojjat, S. K., Safavi, P., & Mohammadi, M. R. (2022) · Clinical Medicine Insights Psychiatry · doi:10.1177/11795573211070537 · Cited by 4
The beneficial effects of a single hypnotherapy session using parts negotiation for specific phobias
Papagianni, V., & Kotera, Y. (2022) · International Journal of Spa and Wellness · doi:10.1080/24721735.2022.2049103 · Cited by 6
Gomes, P. V., Sá, V. J., Donga, J., Marques, A., Gomes, B., de Almeida, R. S., & Pereira, J. (2023) · XoveTIC Conference (XoveTIC) · doi:10.17979/spudc.000024.42 · Cited by 4
Hildebrand, A. S., Breuer, F., Leehr, E. J., Finke, J. B., Bucher, L., Klucken, T., Dannlowski, U., & Roesmann, K. (2023) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0292471 · Cited by 4
Żuk, P., & Żuk, P. (2024) · Frontiers in Political Science · doi:10.3389/fpos.2024.1288787 · Cited by 4
Specific Phobia, Fear, and the Autism Spectrum in Children and Adolescents: Adapting OST for ASD
Davis, T. E., & Brennan, J. (2024) · Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review · doi:10.1007/s10567-024-00475-6 · Cited by 4
Fernández‐Martínez, I., & Muris, P. (2024) · Child Psychiatry & Human Development · doi:10.1007/s10578-024-01712-3 · Cited by 4
“Meanwhile, research tends to indicate that specific fears (and phobias) are highly prevalent, have an early onset, and may predict the development of later anxiety and other internalizing disorders [49].”
Ardiyanto, E. R., Alexander, P., Putra, E. N., & Ramdhan, D. (2024) · Procedia Computer Science · doi:10.1016/j.procs.2024.10.242 · Cited by 4
An online spider game: Overcome your fear, exposure is near
Dibbets, P., & Schruers, K. R. J. (2022) · Computers in Human Behavior Reports · doi:10.1016/j.chbr.2022.100201 · Cited by 4
Animal eMotion, or the emotional evaluation of moving animals
Schmidt, F., Schürmann, L., & Haberkamp, A. (2022) · Cognition & Emotion · doi:10.1080/02699931.2022.2087600 · Cited by 3
PhobeeVR – Design and Development of a Virtual Reality Serious Game for People with Phobias
Ramalhoto, M., Martins, S., & Vairinhos, M. (2024) · SeGAH ... IEEE ... International Conference on Serious Games and Applications for Health/IEEE International Conference on Serious Games and Applications for Health · doi:10.1109/segah61285.2024.10639582 · Cited by 4
“Specific phobias frequently coexist with comorbidities in 60.5% of cases, and the severity of their impact increases with the cumulative presence of multiple specific phobia sub-types [4], [5].”
BackgroundInfluentialNunes, F., Denucci, B. L., Lages, Y., Maisonnette, S. S., Krahe, T. E., Cruz, A. P. D. M., & Landeira-Fernández, J. (2023) · Neurobiology of Learning and Memory · doi:10.1016/j.nlm.2023.107828 · Cited by 3
Iannizzotto, A., Frumento, S., Menicucci, D., Callara, A. L., Gemignani, A., Scilingo, E. P., & Greco, A. (2024) · World Congress on Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, September 7 - 12, 2009, Munich, Germany · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-49062-0_81 · Cited by 3
How Maintaining Variables Are Defined and Established in Functional Assessment
Sullivan, W. E., Baxter, E. L., Craig, A. R., DeRosa, N. M., & Roane, H. S. (2021) · Autism and child psychopathology series · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-66270-7_3 · Cited by 3
Areas, M., Babl, A., Fernández‐Álvarez, J., Roussos, A., Botella, C., García‐Palacios, A., Baños, R., Quero, S., Bretón, J., & Penedo, J. M. G. (2022) · Cognitive Therapy and Research · doi:10.1007/s10608-022-10343-8 · Cited by 5
Method for Assessing the Influence of Phobic Stimuli in Virtual Simulators
Obukhov, A. D., Krasnyanskiy, M. N., Volkov, A. A., Nazarova, A. O., Teselkin, D. V., Игоревич, П. К., & Zajceva, D. V. (2023) · Journal of Imaging · doi:10.3390/jimaging9100195 · Cited by 3
Ekici, F., Karaoğlan, G., Kandeğer, A., Demir, L. S., & Güler, Ö. (2023) · Genel Tıp Dergisi · doi:10.54005/geneltip.1392240 · Cited by 3
Wu, L., Hong, Z., Wang, S., Huang, J., & Liu, J. (2024) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2024.120948 · Cited by 4
The Prima Facie View of Perceptual Imagination
Rivadulla-Duró, A. (2025) · Ergo an Open Access Journal of Philosophy · doi:10.3998/ergo.7306 · Cited by 3
“Facilitating this learning is the purpose of exposure therapy, the leading treatment for specific phobias (Eaton et al. 2018).”
Metadata
- Authors
- Eaton, W. W., Bienvenu, O. J., & Miloyan, B.
- Affiliations
- Johns Hopkins University (US)
- Federation University (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Eaton, William W
- Venue
- The Lancet Psychiatry
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2018-08
- Volume
- 5
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 678-686
- ISSN
- 2215-0366 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC7233312
- OpenAlex
- W4245095371
- Cited by
- 203
- References
- 100
- Citations by year
- 2026: 21 · 2025: 33 · 2024: 37 · 2023: 34 · 2022: 31 · 2021: 27 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 5
- FWCI
- 1.87
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- The Lancet Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute on Aging (U01AG052445)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Keywords
- specific phobia, anxiety disorders, prevalence, incidence, developmental course, risk factors, comorbidities, exposure therapy, childhood onset
- MeSH terms
- Age Factors, Avoidance Learning, Humans, Phobic Disorders, Sex Factors, Global Health, Comorbidity, Prevalence, Age of Onset, Substance-Related Disorders
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
