Cynophobia

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Classification according to ICD-10
F40.2 Specific (isolated) phobias
Animal phobias
ICD-10 online (WHO version 2019)

Cynophobia (from ancient Greek κύων kýon , German 'dog' , and φόβος phobos , German 'fear' , compare phobia ) is an anxiety disorder in humans in which there is an excessive, constant and unfounded fear of dogs . The presence of dogs causes an immediate fear response in those affected, which is accompanied by physical symptoms of anxiety . People develop anticipatory anxiety and avoidance behaviorand are considerably restricted in their quality of life. They realize that their fear is exaggerated.

In contrast to the fear of spiders , for example , cynophobia is a nuisance for those affected because dogs are ubiquitous as socially accepted companions of people in public transport areas in many countries: around 12 million domestic dogs are registered in Germany.

Causes and origins

The cause of the development of cynophobia is unclear. It usually begins in childhood, but can develop at any age. It can arise following a traumatic experience with a dog, but it can also be triggered by the influence of family members who are afraid of dogs or by watching a dog attack. The coverage of dog attacks may also play a role in developing cynophobia.

It has been suggested that conditioning plays a role in creating fear of dogs. Studies have not yet been able to confirm this. It is unclear why some people with the same experience develop fear of dogs and others do not.

diagnosis

The diagnosis of specific phobia , to which cynophobia belongs, is made based on diagnostic criteria. Interviews, which can be free or standardized, are used to assess them.

The DSM-IV contains the following criteria for a specific phobia (abbreviated here):

  • pronounced, persistent fear that is exaggerated or unfounded
  • Immediate fear reaction when confronted with the phobic stimulus (here: dog)
  • the person realizes that the fear is excessive or unfounded
  • the phobic situations are avoided or only endured with great fear
  • significant reduction in normal life, job or social activities, or significant suffering of the person
  • in people under the age of 18, the phobia lasts for at least 6 months.

therapy

The medical guideline anxiety disorders, according to is the treatment of specific phobias, which include the Kynophobie heard primarily in psychotherapy in the form of exposure therapy , in which an exposure therapy is paramount. A distinction is made between real situations ( in vivo ), situations in the patient's imagination ( in sensu ) and situations using virtual reality .

Treatment is indicated if the person concerned has moderate to high levels of suffering, psychosocial limitations and / or possible complications such as addictions.

Treatment goals are to reduce anxiety symptoms and avoidance behavior, reduce the likelihood of relapse, improve the restriction of mobility, improve social integration and improve professional performance and quality of life.

In the therapy of anxiety disorders, the fear circle is used to explain to patients what happens when problematic fears arise .

Although there is a good chance that behavior therapy will be successful, only a few people get medical help.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Markus T. Gastpar, Siegfried Kasper, Michael Linden: Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie Springer-Verlag, 2013, ISBN 978-3-70916-068-8 , pp. 158-160.
  2. ↑ a b c d T. O. Rentz, MB Powers, JA Smits, JR Cougle, MJ Telch: Active-imaginal exposure: examination of a new behavioral treatment for cynophobia (dog phobia) In: Behavior Research and Therapy. Volume 41, Number 11, November 2003, pp. 1337-1353, PMID 14527532 .
  3. ↑ Statista survey , accessed on November 20, 2019
  4. ^ Irena Milosevic, Randi E McCabe: Phobias: the psychology of irrational fear. Greenwood, Santa Barbara, California 2015, ISBN 978-1-61069-575-6 , pp. 103-104.
  5. ↑ S. Doogan, GV Thomas: Origins of fear of dogs in adults and children: the role of conditioning processes and prior familiarity with dogs. In: Behavior Research and Therapy. Volume 30, Number 4, July 1992, pp. 387-394, PMID 1616473 .
  6. ↑ Hans Morschitzky: Anxiety disorders: diagnostics, explanatory models, therapy and self-help for pathological anxiety. Springer-Verlag Vienna 1998, ISBN 978-3-70913-729-1 , pp. 66-67.
  7. ↑ a b c Borwin Bandelow et al .: S3 guideline. Treating anxiety disorders. ( Memento of the original from May 17, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.awmf.org archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (pdf, 3.7 MB)
  8. Jump up ↑ Clara Suied, George Drettakis, Olivier Warusfel, Isabelle Viaud-Delmon: Auditory-Visual Virtual Reality as a Diagnostic and Therapeutic Tool for Cynophobia. In: Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. 16, 2013, p. 145, doi : 10.1089 / cyber.2012.1568 .
  9. ^ Siegfried Kasper, Hans-Peter Volz (Ed.): Psychiatry and Psychotherapy compact: The entire specialist knowledge. , 6.2.7 Therapy , 3., revised. Ed., Thieme, Stuttgart 2014, ISBN 978-3-13-168233-8 .

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