Abstract Body Research on fear and specific phobia remains limited in Japan. Fear has long served as an important model for evaluating the effectiveness of psychological techniques, particularly exposure-based interventions (e.g. Takahashi et al., 2023). Although basic mechanisms of fear are considered relatively culture-independent, few well-validated measures are available in Japan for assessing fear experiences and specific phobia, which hinders not only cross-cultural and international comparisons but also the comparability of basic research findings. This presentation reports two studies aimed at strengthening the empirical foundation of phobia research in Japan and clarifying psychological factors involved in the maintenance of fear and specific phobia.
Study 1 focused on the development and validation of the Japanese version of the Severity Measure for Specific Phobia–Adult (SMSP-A), a scale created to reflect the dimensional assessment approach adopted in DSM-5 and DSM-5-TR (APA, 2013; APA, 2022). Epidemiological data indicate that the lifetime prevalence of specific phobia in Japan is approximately 3%, the highest among anxiety disorders (Sakagami et al., 2013). Although the original SMSP-A is often assumed to have a single-factor structure, some studies have reported alternative factor structures across cultures (DeSousa, et al., 2016; Kaloeti et al., 2022). Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to examine the factor structure in a Japanese adult sample. Internal consistency and concurrent validity with related fear and anxiety measures will be presented, along with evidence supporting the scale’s reliability and validity.
Study 2 examined psychological predictors of fear of insects using a longitudinal design and hierarchical multiple regression analysis. Fear at Time 2 was significantly predicted by disgust sensitivity in Step 1 (R² = .24, p</em> < .01). In Step 2, the addition of avoidance behavior and cognitive fusion significantly improved the model (R² = .32, ΔR² = .08). Step 3 revealed a significant interaction effect (R² = .33, ΔR² = .01). When predicting changes in fear over time (Time 2 minus Time 1), disgust was not a significant predictor. Instead, avoidance behavior emerged as the only significant predictor of increased fear (β = .25, p < .01). These findings highlight the central role of avoidance behavior in the maintenance and exacerbation of fear symptoms over time, underscoring the importance of targeting avoidance in interventions for specific phobia.
