Fear, a universal human experience with deep evolutionary roots, is defined as a set of behavioral, physical, and emotional reactions to defend the body from an identifiable threat (hman, 2008). An angry dog, a burglar trying to break into our home, a loud bang in the middle of the night, or a terrorist attack can trigger our fight-or-flight response, a physiological reaction that prepares the body by concentrating resources to either confront the threat or escape it. As children mature, they experience a number of common fears that are considered normative. Infants and toddlers fear strangers and separation from their caregivers; young children often report fears of the dark, storms, and imaginary creatures; for adolescents and young adults, fear of social and evaluative situations help them navigate intimacy and romantic relationships. In most cases, children master these common fears by developing coping skills through exposuregradually confronting the feared situations in order to correct erroneous beliefs and learn to tolerate their fearful responses (Ale, McCarthy, Rothschild, & Whiteside, 2015). 2021 John Wiley and Sons Ltd
