ТЕНДЕНЦИИ В РАЗВИТИЕТО НА НОРМАЛНИТЕ СТРАХОВЕ
Tendencies in the development of the normal fears

Summary/Abstract: The aim of the study is to reveal the developmental pattern of normal fears during adolescence and youth according to their intensity and frequency. A total of 177 adolescents and young people aged between 16 and 40 years participated in the study. Two identical inventories for assessing fear intensity and frequency, based on the results of a directive associative experiment were used. A Trait Scale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (adapted for Bulgarian conditions by D.Shtetinski and I.Paspalanov, 1989) was also administered. The results showed that the correlation between assessed fear intensity and frequency is statistically significant but moderate. The joint influence of fear intensity and frequency (the fear integral index) determines trait-anxiety. Girls’ fears are higher regarding the three dimensions: intensity, frequency and integral index. The frequency of fear declines with age during these two periods of the life cycle. The 10 most common fears for the total explored contingent are related to the category “bodily injury, illness and death”. Gender and age differences are observed with respect to the 10 most common fears.

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