What are the DSM-5 criteria for Specific Phobia?

What are the DSM-5 criteria for Specific Phobia?

• A. Marked fear or anxiety about many objects or situations.
• B. Persistent worry about multiple domains.
• C. Marked fear or anxiety about a specific object or situation, immediate fear response, avoidance or distress, fear out of proportion, lasting 6 months or more, causing impairment, not better explained by another disorder.
• D. Fear of speaking in public only.

Answer: (C)

Specific phobia is diagnosed when there is a marked fear or anxiety about a specific object or situation, such as animals, heights, flying, or injections, and the response includes an immediate fear reaction that is disproportionate to the actual danger. The person typically goes to great lengths to avoid the feared trigger or endures it with intense distress, and this fear lasts for six months or more. It also causes clinically significant distress or impairment in daily functioning and is not better explained by another mental disorder or a medical condition. This set of features—focus on a single object or situation, immediate and excessive fear, avoidance or distress, duration of at least six months, and resulting impairment—defines the correct description. The other options describe different patterns (fear about many things, generalized worry, or fear limited to social performance), which do not fit the specific phobia profile.

Specific phobia is diagnosed when there is a marked fear or anxiety about a specific object or situation, such as animals, heights, flying, or injections, and the response includes an immediate fear reaction that is disproportionate to the actual danger. The person typically goes to great lengths to avoid the feared trigger or endures it with intense distress, and this fear lasts for six months or more. It also causes clinically significant distress or impairment in daily functioning and is not better explained by another mental disorder or a medical condition. This set of features—focus on a single object or situation, immediate and excessive fear, avoidance or distress, duration of at least six months, and resulting impairment—defines the correct description. The other options describe different patterns (fear about many things, generalized worry, or fear limited to social performance), which do not fit the specific phobia profile.