The effects of graded exposure and parental modeling on the dental phobias of a four-year-old girl and her mother.
The current paper describes a unique case of a very young (4-year-old) dental phobic girl whose mother was also dental avoidant. Treatment of the girl involved a combination of graded exposure and utilizing the mother as a coping model. The results suggest that treatment was highly successful at least to a 6-month follow-up. Despite minimal direct intervention, results also indicated significantly reduced levels of dental fear in the dental-avoidant mother as well. Recommendations for intervention which involve parent modeling are discussed.
D001521:Behavior Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003729:Dental Care / Q000523:psychology*; D003887:Desensitization, Psychologic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007100:Imitative Behavior; D009035:Mothers; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000628:therapy*