Blog #5: Round 3 of Research

How do fears/phobias evolve from childhood to adulthood?

I can only answer this question by answering another one first. “How long do fears last?” This question will tell us how long a typical fear/phobia will last, showing us which ones stay with us into adulthood and which ones evolve, change, or go away.

How long do fears/phobias last?

• Long lasting fears are known as phobias(1)
• A phobia can last for several years or decades
• Many phobias begin in childhood and peak during midlife or old age
• Many phobias can be predicted based off mood, anxiety, or substance-use disorders
• Progression of a phobia
  • fear to avoidance to the diagnoses of the phobia
• Most phobias can be treated or cured, but they often cannot fully go away(2)
  • by gradually being exposed to whatever causes fear
  • called exposure therapy
  • here are some types of exposure therapy

• Phobias can take very long to treat
• Therapy is far more common to treat phobias rather then medication
• Medication that is used is usually antidepressants or tranquillizers
• Fear goes away when the threat goes away(3)
• Anxiety often stays and needs to be managed with medication or therapy
• Anxiety does not just go away and can get worse over time(4)
• Like other emotions, fear can be intense, medium, or light(5)
  • the feeling of fear can be brief or last in long periods of time
• Fear for many people is an in the moment reaction or emotion
• Adult phobias often last many years, and are less likely to go away than children’s(6)
• Phobia in adults can risk psychiatric illness
  • anxiety disorders
  • depression
  • substance use
• For children, many phobias are short-term that go away in a few months
• For adults, 80% of phobias become chronic
• Children’s phobias are more likely to go away without treatment than adults
• Though adults feel fear less easily they develop more intense and longer lasting phobias then children

The time a fear lasts shows the exact difference between a phobia or a fear. The duration of a phobia for adults compared to children is very different, as adults often experience phobias for longer in more intense ways. Children’s fears/phobias are also far easier to treat, sometimes requiring no treatment at all, though that is not common.

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7233312/#:~:text=Phobias%20persist%20for%20several%20years,%2C%20and%20substance%2Duse%20disorders.
2. https://www.nhsinform.scot/illnesses-and-conditions/mental-health/phobias#:~:text=Almost%20all%20phobias%20can%20be,desensitisation%20or%20self%2Dexposure%20therapy.
3. https://www.betterup.com/blog/how-to-overcome-fear-and-anxiety#:~:text=Fear%20is%20an%20emotion%2C%20and,managed%20with%20medication%20and%20therapy.
4. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/anxiety-disorders#:~:text=Many%20people%20worry%20about%20things,can%20get%20worse%20over%20time.
5. https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/phobias.html#:~:text=Like%20all%20emotions%2C%20fear%20can,or%20it%20can%20last%20longer.
6. https://www.health.harvard.edu/a_to_z/phobia-a-to-z#:~:text=Adult%20phobias%20tend%20to%20last,disorders%2C%20depression%20and%20substance%20abuse.