COMMON CHILDHOOD FEARS AND THEIR ORIGINS

The present study examined rank orders and characteristics of childhoo d fears. A 'free option' approach ('What do you fear most?') deviated markedly from the fear rank order based on the Fear Survey Schedule fo r Children. A second aim of the study was to investigate the origins o f prevalent childhood fears. In contrast to the results of Ollendick a nd King (1991, Behaviour Research and Therapy, 29, 117-123), condition ing was found to be the most commonly reported pathway related to exac erbation and onset of fears. Finally, special attention was given to t he top intense fear in children, namely fear of spiders. Children who reported 'none', 'some' or 'a lot' of spider fear were compared with e ach other in terms of pathways. No differences between the three group s were found with respect to the frequency of modeling and information experiences. However. high fearful children more often reported condi tioning experiences than low or moderate fearful children. (C) 1997 El sevier Science Ltd.