Led by example: fear transmission from parents to children via social fear learning pathways

Abstract

This dissertation investigates the transmission of fear from parents to children through two social fear-learning pathways: modeling (non-verbal cues) and instructional learning (verbal threat information). The research also explores how child temperament and parental anxiety might amplify this transmission. Key findings from this research include: (1) Even a single exposure to parents’ anxious expressions regarding novel stimuli can contribute to infants’ and children’s fear and avoidance acquisition toward these stimuli. In early life (infants aged 0–30 months), parents’ fearful reactions to new stimuli can result in small to moderate effects on an infant’s fear and avoidance of novel stimuli. In childhood (2.5–18 years), verbal threat information from parents has a large effect on children’s fear of novel stimuli. (2) Role of Child Temperament and Parental Anxiety: Children with fearful temperaments exhibit enhanced fear acquisition to novel stimuli via social fear learning during infancy but not later during childhood. Children of anxious parents did not show strengthened fear learning after a single exposure to parental anxious expressions toward novel stimuli. Implications and Conclusion: The findings suggest that parents’ fearful responses to novel stimuli can shape children’s fear responses. Preventive strategies, such as training parents to reduce fearful reactions and emphasize positive responses, may help mitigate fear transmission, particularly for children with fearful temperaments. A key challenge for future research is to assess social fear-learning pathways in more ecologically valid contexts.