Enhanced sensitivity to fear-related avoidance among healthy young adults: Agoraphobic experiences and early representation of parental rearing behaviour

Abstract

Background: This study examined the sensitivity to agoraphobic fears influenced by perceived parental rearing behavior using a sample of healthy, young university students. Our goal was the partial mapping of the development of avoidance behavior, which can play an important role in the emergence of psychosomatic illnesses. In the first place, we analyzed the relationship between the memory representations of the parents' rearing style and the avoidance behavior. Methods: 305 students (140 women and 165 men, mean age 22.0 ± 2.0) participated in the study. Self-reported questionnaires were used: the Fear Survey Schedule (FSS) and the EMBU evaluation list questionnaire (Egna Minne Betraffende Uppfostran; "On My Memories of Upbringing"), which is responsible to assess the recall of the parental rearing style. Results: The results show that there is a link between agoraphobic fear and the representations of parents' rearing behavior. With respect to gender differences and in accordance with the anxiety disorder epidemiological data, agoraphobic fears were found to be more frequent among girls than boys, and the difference was statistically significant (β = -0.176; p = 0.005). With respect to the parents' rearing attitudes, the data show that the lack of an emotionally warm father (β = 0.207; p = 0.011), and paternal overprotection (β = 0.214; p = 0.002) are sensitizing factors. Further, both the mothers' attitude of acceptance and their emotional warmth was positively related to agoraphobic fears (β = 1.298; p < 0.001). Conclusions: The results suggest that agoraphobic avoidance behavior can occur not only among individuals with clinical levels of anxiety, but also among healthy individuals as a result of unique upbringing conditions. The representations of parents' rearing behavior adversely affect a person's process of experience. Several sensitizing factors were not examined, and the investigation of normal people limits the interpretation of the results. The outlined theoretical model, however, could serve as a basis of further investigations on avoidance behavior.