Acrophobia (fear of heights) : a qualitative study on the experience of Maltese individuals

Abstract

This qualitative study explores the lived experience of acrophobia of a self-selected sample of five Maltese participants from a non-clinical population. A phenomenological approach using in-depth, semi-structured interviews was adopted to analyse the causes, course and effects of acrophobia on individuals. Common themes emerged, namely that the causes of the participants' acrophobia seem to be induced by a predisposition to anxiety, inherited from the mother and/or from vicarious learning and negative reinforcement. The effects on the individuals were loss of control of self and others, whereas healing was for most a self-managing process. This study serves to increase awareness of the suffering and debilitating effects of acrophobia on individuals and to lessen the stigma towards this phobia.