Test-retest reliability and synchronous status of heart rate recorded in vivo in children with phobic disorder

摘要

The present study assesses the synchrony and test-retest reliability of the three fear response systems in clinically diagnosed phobic disordered (experimental subjects) and non-phobic children (controls). Subjects (five boys and one girl, aged seven to sixteen, in each group) underwent three in vivo phobic assessments, each including a measure of self-report of fear (subjective), degree and duration of approach (behavioral) and heart rate (physiological), resulting in a total of 36 assessments. Synchrony coefficients for both groups indicated low inter-relationships among the systems. Test-retest coefficients of heart rate indicated moderate-to-very high reliability, with reliability being somewhat higher for phobics. Test-retest coefficients of the subjective and behavioral measures indicated high reliability for both groups, particularly the controls. Implications of the results are discussed with respect to the synchrony and assessment of the response systems. Future research directions are delineated.