Blood phobics and nonphobics: psychological differences and affect during exposure.

This study compared psychological dimensions of blood phobics and nonphobic controls, examined affect in response to phobic and neutral stimuli, and investigated the relationship between reported feelings of faintness and blood pressure. Blood phobics (24 adults with extreme Mutilation Questionnaire scores) and 24 nonphobics completed several psychological measures and viewed one of two 60 sec surgery scenes and a 60 sec neutral scene in counterbalanced order. Subjective, psychophysiologic, and motoric measures of affect were assessed. On questionnaires, phobics reported greater anxiety sensitivity, empathic distress, fear and insecurity, and nightmares, but no difference in autonomic arousal, muscle tension, motion sickness, or other empathy domains. During surgery scenes, phobics had more negative affect than controls; however, phobics were more anxious during only one of the two surgeries, and often only when the surgery was presented prior to the neutral scene. Fainting did not occur, and self-reported feelings of faintness were unrelated to blood pressure changes. The findings highlight the lack of information on blood phobic stimulus properties, fainting's relationship to self-reports and blood pressure, and the specific emotion experienced in blood phobia.