Fear of Heights and Visual Height Intolerance in Children 8–10 Years Old

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence, symptoms, spontaneous course, and behavioral consequences of visual height intolerance in children in comparison to adults. Methods: Survey in three primary schools on the frequency of visual height intolerance in 455 children aged 8 to 10 years. Individual structured interviews of 90 susceptible children and 54 of their parents. Results: The prevalence of visual height intolerance in children amounted to 34%; there was no gender preponderance. The condition began at a mean age of 5.9 years and rarely showed a tendency to generalize with respect to trigger stimuli. Triggers and symptoms were similar to those in adults. Avoidance behavior was reported by less than one third of the children, and there was only minimal subjective impairment of life quality. The condition was not perceived to be a disease or an individual weakness. Frequency and severity had already spontaneously improved in nearly one half of the children by the time of the survey. Conclusion: More than one third of prepubertal girls and boys exhibited susceptibility for visual height intolerance which in contrast to the adult-onset type of the condition – appeared to take a benign spontaneous course.