Gender differences in prevalence and intensity of fears in a sample of children and adolescents: Data based on the FSSC-R

Abstract

The aim of this work was to examine gender differences in prevalence and intensity of common fears in a large sample (N = 1080) of nonclinical children and adolescents (ranging in age from 8 to 18 years). Participants completed the Spanish version of the Fear Survey Schedule for Children-Revised (FSSC-R; Ollendick, 1983), a validated measure designed to assess common fears in children an adolescents. Results showed that: (1) girls reported significantly higher levels of fearfulness (prevalence and intensity of fears) than boys; (2) both girls and boys reported high levels of number of fears on the physical danger and death domain (nine of the ten most common fears belong to this fear dimension); and (3) both girls and boys endorsed 9 of the 10 same fears as their highest fears. Overall, these data paralleled those reported in other Western samples (United States, Australia and England) and provide cross-cultural validity of the Spanish version of the FSSC-R.