Implosive therapy with semiclinical phobias.

Describes a 2-phase investigation using 52 female volunteers with semiclinical phobias of insects. Ss' interview data support vicarious learning family-dependency interpretations rather than traumatic conditioning interpretations of the etiology of phobias. Compared with previous samples of phobic college students Ss showed significantly greater degrees of fear on an overt-behavior assessment test and self-report measures (e.g., Fazio's Inventory of Reported Fears). A brief course of implosive therapy was not found to be as effective as a form of treatment based on J. Andrews' suggestions. Treatment-research implications are briefly discussed. (33 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)