According to traditional conceptualizations of the relationship between fear of falling and falls in older adults, fear of falling is considered to be predictive of falls because it leads to activity avoidance which, in turn, leads to de-conditioning that increases fall risk. The recent literature has begun to challenge such conceptualizations. Specifically, it has been argued that fear of fall...

The current study tested whether height overestimation is related to height fear and influenced by images of falling. To assess perceptual biases, participants high (n=65) versus low (n=64) in height fear estimated the vertical extents of two balconies using a visual matching task. On one of the balconies, participants engaged in an imagery exercise designed to enhance the subjective sense that...

Evolution of the Concept In the late 1970s, Marks and Bebbington described “space phobia” in four elderly women who had intense fear of falling “when there was no visible support at hand or on seeing space cues while driving”.1 These authors speculated that space phobia “might be a hitherto unrecognized syndrome or an unusual variant of agoraphobia”. In 1982, Murphy and Isaacs published their c...



Vestibular sensation contributes to cervical-head stabilization and fall prevention. To what extent fear of falling influences the associated vestibular feedback processes is currently undetermined. We used galanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) to induce vestibular reflexes while participants stood at ground level and on a narrow walkway at 3.85 m height to induce fear of falling. Fear was confi...

background falling is a major health threat for the elderly and has a significant impact on their well-being and quality of life. yet, falls are preventable among the elderly. we sought to determine the effectiveness of an educational intervention in reducing the fear of falling and improving balance among the elderly visiting jahandidegan center in shiraz, iran. methods a preliminary study was...

OBJECTIVE Fear of falling is defined as an ongoing concern about falling that is not explained by physical examination. Focusing on the psychological dimension of this pathology (phobic reaction to walking), we looked at how virtual reality associated with serious games can be used to treat this pathology. METHODS Participants with fear of falling were randomly assigned to either a treatment ...

PURPOSE To test a model of the path from Activity Limitation (postural instability) to participation (morale), taking account of the influence of psychological variables of appraisal, emotion and self-efficacy. Also to attempt to define whether elderly people with fear of falling are fearful because they are posturally unstable or because they are generally anxious. METHOD Elderly inpatients ...