Diagnostic Features
A key feature of this disorder is that the fear or anxiety is circumscribed to the presence of a
particular situation or object (Criterion A), which may be termed the phobic stimulus.  The cat-
egories of feared situations or objects are provi ded as specifiers. Many individuals fear objects
or situations from more than one category, or  phobic stimulus. For th e diagnosis of specific
phobia, the response must differ from normal, transient fears that commonly occur in the pop-
ulation. To meet the criteria for a diagnosis, the fear or anxiety must be intense or severe (i.e.,
“marked”) (Criterion A). The amount of fear experienced may vary wi th proximity to the
feared object or situation and may occur in anticipa tion of or in the actual presence of the object
or situation. Also, the fear or anxiety may take the form of a full or limited symptom panic at-
tack (i.e., expected panic attack). Another characteri stic of specific phobias is that fear or anxi-
ety is evoked nearly every time the individual  comes into contact with the phobic stimulus
(Criterion B). Thus, an indivi dual who becomes anxious only occasionally upon being con-
fronted with the situation or object (e.g., become s anxious when flying only on one out of every
five airplane flights) would not be diagnosed with specific phobia. However, the degree of fear
or anxiety expressed may vary (from anticipatory anxiety to a full panic attack) across different
occasions of encountering the phobic object or situation because of various contextual factors
such as the presence of others, duration of exposure, and other threat ening elements such as
turbulence on a flight for indi viduals who fear flying. Fear and anxiety are often expressed dif-