CBT shows long-term gains for childhood phobias and anxiety

Phobias and anxiety disorders in childhood do not always go away over time and can increase the risk of worsening mental-health problems, teenage pregnancy, dropping out of high school and not going on to college and university. There is now quite a lot of evidence that exposure-based cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) which aims to gradually get people used to what they are frightened of and change their thinking about it is effective at treating these problems but little research has been done into its long-term effectiveness. A team of researchers led by Lissette M. Saavedra from RTI International in North Carolina studied 67 people who had received exposure-based CBT as children and followed them up between eight and 13 years later to see how they were getting on. The study found that the participants' problems were still under control a long time after treatment.

Saavedra, Lissette ... [et al] - Cognitive behavioral treatment for childhood anxiety disorders: long-term effects on anxiety and secondary disorders in young adulthood Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry August 2010, 51(8), 924-934

Childhood fears

Childhood fears are relatively common and can have a number of different causes. The onset and course of phobias and anxiety disorders have been associated with a concept known as anxiety sensitivity - subjectively-held beliefs about the negative consequences of being or becoming anxious, a 'fear of fear'. As well as factors in the children themselves their parents' problems and style of child-rearing can also influence children's levels of fear. Heightened parental anxiety is related to the onset and course of phobic and anxiety disorders in children and several studies have shown that children whose parents have panic disorder and/or agoraphobia are at high risk for the development of these disorders. Other studies have shown that parenting strategies typified by overprotection and overcontrol are related to the presence of fear and anxiety in children and parents of anxiety-disordered and phobic children have been rated by observers as granting less autonomy to their children than parents of non-anxious children. A U.S. study of 156 children found that overall age, gender, anxiety sensitivity and maternal ratings of an overly controlling parenting strategy were significant predictors of levels of fear but that maternal phobic anxiety was not a significant predictor. Anxiety sensitivity was a significant predictor of fear levels for both older and younger children and boys and girls. However, having an overly-protective mother was significant only for younger children and only for girls. Younger children and girls were more likely to be fearful than older children and boys.

Ollendick, Thomas H. and Horsch, Laura M. - Fears in clinic-referred children: relations with child anxiety sensitivity, maternal overcontrol, and maternal phobic anxiety. Behaviour Therapy December 2007, 38(4), 402-411

Emetophobia and locus of control

Emetophobia is the fear of vomiting and can be triggered by seeing other people being sick or feelings of nausea in oneself. It can affect people's social, home and work life, can significantly affect leisure activities and may lead to women delaying becoming pregnant. A study of 149 people compared emetophobics, people with other phobias and people with no phobias. People with emetophobia were found to have a significantly higher internal locus of control than the other groups. People with a high internal locus of control are more likely to think that what happens to them in life and the state of their health are within their control than that they are affected by external factors, fate or genetics. The researchers suggested that emetophobics may have a fear of losing control and that their emetophobia is just a reflection of this alternative, underlying problem.

Davidson, Angela L., Boyle, Christopher and Lauchlan, Fraser - Scared to lose control ? General and health locus of control in females with a phobia of vomiting Journal of Clinical Psychology January 2008, 64(1), 30-39