Risk factors
The factors associated with increased risk of developing phobias include:
- Age -phobias tend to appear in childhood, although phobias can also develop later in life
- If a close family member has a phobia -fear may be learned or have a genetic factor
- Experiencing a frightening event or hearing/learning about a traumatic event
- Personality characteristics such as sensitivity or strong negativity
Causes
Specific phobias can be related with several factors such as:
- temperament
- genetic factors
- negative experiences with the object or situation, or after observing another person's response to the object or situation
