Abstract
Dog phobia is a complex psychological phenomenon classified under the
anxiety disorders. Twelve female students suffering from dog phobia participated
in this qualitative study which included an initial screening, therapeutic
intervention and eight-month follow-up. Initial screening was
conducted by means of a Fear Survey Schedule and observational assessment
of non-verbal behavior during a behavioral approach test (dog stimulus).
Therapeutic intervention involved a combination of systematic
desensitization and instructional learning. Qualitative data analysis followed
a phenomenological approach. The results indicate that the onset
age of dog phobia varied from early childhood to late adolescence. Twothirds
of the participants reported a direct traumatic event as the onset
context of their dog phobia, while 17% reported vicarious learning contexts
and 17% an inability to recall the onset context. The most widely used
sensory focal mode of perception during contact with dogs was visual
cues, followed by auditory cues. Half of the participants reported “eye”
aspects as the fear-evoking stimulus. A wide variety of anxieties and fears
were found to co-occur with dog phobia, although some participants were still able to
accommodate dogs and other companion animals in their lives. The poststudy
follow-up indicated that the intervention yielded significant real life
improvement in 75% of the cases. The implications of this study for therapeutic
situations are discussed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:tut/oai:encore.tut.ac.za:d1001993 |
| Date | 28 April 2015 |
| Creators | Hoffmann, WA, Human, LH |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | |
| Rights | Taylor & Francis |
| Relation | Anthrozoös A multidisciplinary journal of the interactions of people and animals |
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