Clinical characteristics of driving phobia

Abstract Fifty-six subjects who were afraid of driving were recruited by advertisement and compared to 31 controls without this fear. Subjects were interviewed and given several questionnaires to gather information for making DSM-III-R diagnoses and to determine their agoraphobia avoidance behavior, driving history, and the history of their phobia. Our sample had a mean age of 48, was 82% female, and typically feared and avoided driving on freeways, bridges, and through tunnels, but were not so fearful about driving on quiet residential streets. Diagnostically, 81% of the phobics reported having had panic attacks, but only 14% (8/56) met criteria for Panic Disorder. Although on average phobics had had no more automobile accidents than controls, 15% (8/55) reported an accident as the primary reason for their phobia. The 53% (29/55) who reported panic attacks as the primary reason for their phobia were more concerned about anxiety symptoms while driving than phobics who gave other, nonaccident-related reasons for their phobia. We conclude that many driving phobics do not fit neatly into current DSM-III-R anxiety disorder categories, because they combine characteristics of Simple Phobia and Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia without meeting the criteria for either disorder.

[1]  K. Hugdahl,et al.  Acquisition of agoraphobia, mode of onset and anxiety response patterns. , 1983, Behaviour research and therapy.

[2]  M. Seligman.  Phobias and preparedness , 1971 .

[3]  David H. Barlow,et al.  Anxiety and its disorders : the nature and treatment of anxiety and panic , 1988 .

[4]  R. Mathew,et al.  Driving phobia in the city of Houston: a pilot study. , 1982, The American journal of psychiatry.

[5]  S. Rachman,et al.  Fear And Courage , 1978 .

[6]  Psychophysiological assessment of driving phobia. , 1992 .

[7]  B. Cox,et al.  Road vehicle accidents and phobias in 60 patients with fibromyalgia , 1991 .

[8]  Williams Sl.  On the nature and measurement of agoraphobia. , 1985 .

[9]  M. Craske.  Phobic fear and panic attacks: The same emotional states triggered by different cues? , 1991 .

[10]  Lars-Göran Öst,et al.  Age of onset in different phobias. , 1987 .

[11]  W. Agras,et al.  Cardiovascular and Symptomatic Reduction Effects of Alprazolam and Imipramine in Patients with Panic Disorder: Results of a Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial , 1990, Journal of clinical psychopharmacology.

[12]  Edward J. Hickling,et al.  Post-traumatic stress disorder and motor vehicle accidents , 1992 .

[13]  O. Cameron,et al.  Simple phobia: Evidence for heterogeneity , 1989, Psychiatry Research.

[14]  G. Curtis,et al.  Mode of onset of simple phobia subtypes: Further evidence of heterogeneity , 1991, Psychiatry Research.

[15]  E. Gracely,et al.  The Mobility Inventory for Agoraphobia. , 1985, Behaviour research and therapy.

[16]  D. Munjack.  The onset of driving phobias. , 1984, Journal of behavior therapy and experimental psychiatry.

[17]  K Kuch,et al.  Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder after Car Accidents , 1985, Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie.

[18]  A. Beck,et al.  An inventory for measuring depression. , 1961, Archives of general psychiatry.

[19]  S. Rachman.  The conditioning theory of fearacquisition: A critical examination , 1977 .

[20]  R. McNally,et al.  Fear of flying in agoraphobia and simple phobia: Distinguishing features☆ , 1992 .

[21]  S. Williams,et al.  Cognitive treatment in the natural environment for agoraphobics , 1983 .

[22]  Richard Gallagher,et al.  Assessment of fear of fear in agoraphobics: the body sensations questionnaire and the agoraphobic cognitions questionnaire , 1984 .

[23]  R. Spitzer.  Dsm-III-R Casebook , 1991 .