Citation

Loxton H, Roomaney R, Cobb C. J. Child Adolesc. Ment. Health 2018; 30(3): 183-189.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology , Stellenbosch University , Stellenbosch , South Africa.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, National Inquiry Services Centre, South Africa)

DOI

10.2989/17280583.2018.1533838

PMID

30403926

Abstract

The objective of this study was to explore the five most frequently reported fears in a sample of university students, and investigate the origins of these fears. The study employed a cross-sectional design with convenience sampling. Data were collected using a self-report questionnaire and analysed using a combination of descriptive statistics and content analysis. Participants consisted of 544 first-year psychology students. This study identified academic failure, animals, general failure, losing loved ones to death, and violence/crime as the top five fears among a sample of university students. 'Conditioning experiences' was one of the most prominent pathways in the acquisition of all these fears. Negative information transmission was also a dominant pathway relating to the origin of fear such as academic failure and violence/crime. However, 'modelling experiences' was not identified as a prominent pathway in the present study. These findings contribute to identifying the origins of first-year students' self-reported fears by using the three pathways theory. These findings may contribute meaningfully to the development and implementation of prevention and intervention programmes at higher education institutions.

Language: en