Specific Phobia
Specific Phobia Causes
and Risk Factors
The exact cause of specific
phobia is not known, but the etiology (causes) of
specific phobia is extensively studied. However, the
mechanism that lies behind the development of specific
phobia is extremely complex and involves a combination of
several factors (genetic tendencies, brain chemistry,
biological, psychological and environmental factors).
Environmental factors.
Specific phobia can develop as the result of a traumatic experience. This
can include three situations:
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Direct exposure to a traumatic event (known as
direct learning experience). Some individuals
develop a specific phobia as the result of a
direct experience to a traumatic event. For
example, an individual that was bitten by a dog
can develop a dog phobia. 2).
Witnessing a traumatic event (known as
observational learning experience). Some
individuals can develop a specific phobia by
witnessing others experiencing a traumatic
experience or displaying fear and anxiety in
certain situations. For example, an individual
that grows up with parents who fear height or
witnesses a tragic accident when someone falls
from a building can develop a phobia of high
places.
3).
Hearing or reading about dangerous situations
(known as informational learning). An individual
can develop a specific phobia when hearing and
reading about situations that can be dangerous.
For example, a flying phobia can be triggered by
frequently hearing of plane crashes. A child can
develop an animal phobia if their parents
repeatedly warn them about the danger of certain
animals.
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Specific
phobia can develop as the result of the association
between a neutral stimulus and an anxiety response. For
example, when an individual drives on the highway and
experiences an intense anxiety response or panic attack,
they can associate the highway with the anxiety/panic
attack. When the avoidance behavior occurs (the
individual avoids the highway), the individual can learn
to become phobic.
However,
experiencing a traumatic experience does not always
result in the development of a specific phobia, and some
individuals with specific phobia do not recall any
obvious trigger, cause, or source of their phobia.
Psychological factors
Researchers that study phobias noticed that individuals
that suffer from a specific phobia tend to pay more
attention to threatened information than individuals
without specific phobia. Individuals with a spider phobia
tend to notice the presence of a spider in a room before
anybody else. Also, it is common for individuals with
specific phobia to have distortions regarding memories
that involve the phobic stimulus. They recall the phobic
situation as more dangerous than it really was, or the
feared animal larger, faster, or more aggressive than it
was in reality. The memory distortions can be supported
by impaired beliefs and interpretations attributed to
feared objects or situations. The anxiety response
experienced during a phobic situation can be maintained
or increased by these impaired beliefs and
interpretations.
Biological
factors
Although there is relatively little research conducted on
the biological factors of specific phobia, there is
evidence that specific phobia tends to run in the family.
First-degree relatives of individuals with specific
phobia, animal type are more likely to have an animal
phobia themselves, but they may not necessary fear the
same animal. First-degree relatives of individuals with
specific phobia, situational type, are likely to develop
situational phobias. However, individuals with specific
phobia, blood-injections-injury type "have a
particularly strong family pattern." (2)
Article by Alina Morrow
MS Psychology
Medical Writer
OmniMedicalSearch.com
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