TPC-Journal-V5-Issue2

The Professional Counselor /Volume 5, Issue 2 263 & Taimalu, 2003; Lahikainen et al., 2006; Robinson, Rotter, Fey, & Robinson, 1991; Robinson et al., 2004; Sayfan, 2008). Research over the decades has indicated that common fears of children include the broad categories of animals, darkness, death and the supernatural. However, research also demonstrates that the content of youth’s fears changes along with the advancement of technology, incorporating elements that have become socially relevant and discarding those that have become obsolete (Burnham, 2009). The fear response consists of three components: thoughts, emotions and physical sensations (Hannesdottir & Ollendick, 2007; Robinson et al., 2004). Distressing events stimulate fear and anxiety in children, but fears also can arise when a child anticipates possible risk of injury, pain or loss (Burnham, 2009; Robinson et al., 1991). As an upsetting event proceeds from either a real or imagined threat, this anticipation of injury, pain or loss can evoke a fear response in a child. Thus, fear can develop from actual events or from beliefs and perceptions. While excessive childhood fears are correlated with adult psychopathology, it should be noted that fear is a normative aspect of childhood development, so fears themselves are not considered the problem (Moses et al., 2003; Robinson et al., 1988). In fact, there are positive aspects of fear, such as self-preservation, galvanizing of internal coping resources, improved focus and an increased sense of vitality (Goud, 2005; Robinson et al., 1988; Robinson et al., 1991), but the negative effects of children’s fears can be serious. Fears may disrupt sleep, create exhaustion and hinder performance (Cartwright-Hatton, 2006; Robinson et al., 1991). Moreover, children suffering from fear often exhibit diminished academic achievement because fear interrupts motivation and the ability to concentrate (Moses et al., 2003; National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, 2010). Researchers still do not completely understand the etiology of childhood fears and anxiety (Ollendick et al., 2001). It is likely that fear development involves some hereditary predisposition and genetics (Eley, Rijsdijk, Perrin, O’Connor, & Bolton, 2008; Klein, 2009). There is evidence that children’s characteristics and temperaments influence their fear development (Weems & Silverman, 2006). For example, Muris and Ollendick (2005) found a link between fearful or inhibited temperament and childhood anxiety disorders. Overall, research indicates that there is a moderate correlation between genetics and fear-related symptoms, but fear and anxiety appear to arise from a complex interaction among a variety of factors (Weems & Stickle, 2005). Researchers believe that behavioral (Ollendick et al., 2001; Weems & Stickle, 2005) and social learning also play a part. Behavioral and Social Learning Factors The behaviorally based factors in fear acquisition include (a) exposure to negative stimuli, (b) conditioning through negative experiences, (c) social learning through others’ modeling or (d) exposure to upsetting information (Muris, Merckelbach, Gadet, & Moulaert, 2000; Ollendick et al., 2001). For example, Dubi, Rapee, Emerton, and Schniering (2008) found that toddlers indicated fear of objects based on their mother’s positive or negative reaction to the object, regardless of the child’s temperament, which supports a social learning aspect to fear acquisition. There is additional empirical evidence that fear acquired indirectly through social observation, with no personal experience of the aversive event, engages similar neural mechanisms as traditional behaviorally based stimulus-response fear conditioning (Olsson, Nearing, & Phelps, 2007). Field, Lawson, and Banerjee (2008) found support for the effect of verbal information on persistent fear acquisition in children. These studies reinforce the notion that fear can be acquired through behavioral and social learning factors. Fears resulting from behaviorally based factors have been correlated with anxiety, phobias (fearful or anxious responses to, or avoidance of, specific objects or situations; APA, 2013), and behavior problems in children (Gao, Raine, Venables, Dawson, & Mednick, 2010). Cognitive Factors In addition to behavioral and social learning explanations of fear acquisition, there is evidence for cognitive- based fear development. Research indicates that some fears are associated with maladaptive thinking patterns