Dental phobia acquisition and anxiety response patterns

The aim of the present paper is to study the way which 38 dental phobics have acquired their phobia and its relationship with anxiety response patterns showed. In doing so, subjects filled-in: (1) a questionnaire concerning topics such as the origin of the phobia, including direct and indirect conditioning experience items (classical conditioning, vicarious learning, negative information); (2) a questionnaire which assess state of anxiety -ISRA-State. Anxiety was conceptualized following the Three Response Systems approach, which implies the assessment of the three components of anxiety (cognitive, physiological and motor). This study was also based on Rachman hypothesis (1977) concerning the acquisition of the phobia and the anxiety response pattern showed by the subject: physiological reactions are mostly outstanding when the phobia is acquired by classical conditioning; however, negative cognitions are mostly relevant when it is acquired indirectly. Results did not show cleary relationship between the way of acquisition and a relevant anxiety pattern (subjective, physiological or motor). However, there is some trend to show a lower physiological reactivity, measured by self-report instruments, in subjects who acquired their phobia mainly through indirect conditioning.