One in five childhood fears is so serious that it should be treated like an
adult psychiatric disorder, a Dutch report says. A team led by Peter Muris of
the University of Maastricht asked 290 primary school children about their fears
and ranked them on a clinical scale. In 66 cases the fear was so bad that it
interfered with the child鈥檚 daily life, making it serious enough to class as an
anxiety disorder (Behaviour Research and Therapy, vol 38, p 217).
鈥淭here seems to be a need for early intervention,鈥 says Muris. The most common
fears include spiders, blood and getting lost.
More from New Scientist
Explore the latest news, articles and features
Technology
Test moderators use AI-generated writing to judge literacy standards
News
Mind
THC in cannabis may reduce nightmares in people with PTSD
News
Environment
Fishers detonate a bomb every hour on one Indonesian coral reef
News
Environment
How bad is the UK drought and how long will it continue?
News
Popular articles
Trending New Scientist articles