A Comparison of Graduated Exposure, Verbal Coping Skills, and Their Combination in the Treatment of Children's Fear of the Dark

Abstract

This study investigated the effectiveness of graduated exposure, verbal coping skills, and their combination in treating fear of the dark in 4- and 5-year-old normal children, using both behavioral and subjective measures of fearfulness. Only those groups which received direct exposure to the dark during treatment demonstrated significant changes in dark tolerance. Non-significant differences in dark tolerance for high versus low instructional demand conditions in two posttests were obtained. Analysis of subjective fear ratings suggested questionable validity in the children's abilities to label subjective fearfulness.