Clinical characteristics of flight phobia.
Sixty-six subjects with severe fear of flying were recruited by advertisement and compared to 21 controls without flying fears. Subjects were interviewed and given several questionnaires to determine DSM-III-R diagnoses, history of flying, and development and course of flying phobia. Our phobic sample had a mean age of 46 and was 89% female. Diagnostically, 27% met criteria for current Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia, and 17% criteria for that diagnosis in the past. These two groups were more concerned with internal or social anxiety stimuli during flight than the group who had never had panic attacks but met criteria for Simple Phobia (flying). All three groups were equally concerned about external dangers. Traumatic flight events were common in phobics and controls, but phobics reported reacting to these events more strongly. Our results suggest a vulnerability-stress model with several vulnerability factors, including cognitive ones. Treatment implications are discussed.
Wilhelm
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Stanford University School of Medicine, USA. fwilhelm@hsph.harvard.edu
Roth
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D000379:Agoraphobia / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy; D000401:Aircraft; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001007:Anxiety / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016584:Panic Disorder / Q000150:complications*; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D012920:Social Behavior Disorders / Q000150:complications