How Normal Are Anxiety and Fear?

Paul P.G. Hodiamont
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Paul P.G. Hodiamont: Department of Psychiatry, University of Nijmegen, Postbus 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands

International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 1991, vol. 37, issue 1, 43-50

Abstract: In practice or in research, psychiatrists should confine their work to abnormal or pathological phenomena. To distinguish normality from abnormality, psychiatrists (often implicitly) test people's behaviour against the following criteria: suffering, loss of autonomy and unreality. The positive aspects of anxiety/fear will be discussed: in how far the phenomenon induces pleasure, enhances autonomy or is justified. This approach to the reality aspect is through an ethological focus on a specific form of fear — the fear of strangers in young children. The prevalence of abnormal fear and anxiety in similar populations is shown to be dependent on the way in which (ab)normality is operationalised. A qualitative individual-oriented approach yields considerably less anxiety than a quantitative group-oriented approach. In practice a careful assessment of (ab)normality will help the psychia trist to treat normal anxiety in an efficient and abnormal anxiety in an effective manner.

Date: 1991
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:socpsy:v:37:y:1991:i:1:p:43-50

DOI: 10.1177/002076409103700106

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