Fear of flying in the wake of September 11: No evidence for an increase in a German sample

Abstract

In theory, information obtained from others can be a potential pathway to the development of a phobia. The media coverage of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, obviously had a strong impact on people world-wide. Therefore, we examined whether this influenced the prevalence of fear of flying. In Germans, although living far away, the number of airline passengers declined sharply in the months following the attacks, which has been speculated to be a result of increased fear of flying. We had collected data on fear of flying shortly before September 11. Soon after the attacks we collected data in a second comparable sample, which enabled us to examine whether indirect learning (information through media coverage) has actually increased the prevalence of fear of flying. Although the sample recruited after the attacks reported traumatic experiences more often, fear of flying stayed the same. There were no further differences in any of the specific or general measures of anxiety or fear.

Keywords:

• Fear of flying
• phobia acquisition
• informational learning
• September 11
• traumatic events