Self-Report Instruments

Abstract

It is normal for children to experience fears and anxieties during childhood. When fear and anxiety interfere with the child's day-to-day existence and development, however, the situation has become abnormal and evaluation and intervention are required. The terms "anxiety," "fear," and "phobia" are often used interchangeably by the lay person, though they can have different meanings to the clinician. Anxiety is often thought of as a more generalized symptom with wider influence over a child's personality and daily functioning and can progress from symptom to disorder or even originate as such. Fear is associated with events that are more situation-specific. If any specific fear grows to become particularly intense and anxiety-producing, resulting in dysfunctional avoidant behavior and cognitive and physiological changes, it is termed a phobia. In this chapter, "phobia" is subsumed under the term "fear," though it goes beyond the level of normal fears that may be entirely appropriate or adaptive (e.g., a fear of snakes may be appropriate and even adaptive, but not if no snakes are present and a child refuses to leave his or her room for fear of encountering a snake).