Arrindell W A, Mulkens S, Kok J, Vollenbroek J
Department of Clinical Psychology, Academic Hospital, University of Groningen, The Netherlands.
Behav Res Ther. 1999 Mar;37(3):273-80. doi: 10.1016/s0005-7967(98)00129-6.
Davey's mediational hypothesis [Davey, G. C. L. (1994). Self-reported fears to common indigenous animals in an adult UK population: the role of disgust sensitivity. British Journal of Psychology, 85, 541-554.] suggests that the sex difference in self-assessed animal fears can be accounted for by the sex difference in disgust sensitivity. An empirical test failed to support this hypothesis in a non-clinical sample (N = 214). Holding constant the influences of confounders such as age, fear of contamination, sex roles, neuroticism, psychoticism and disgust sensitivity, biological sex kept emerging as a significant predictor in relation to four types of animal fears (fear-relevant animals, dry or non-slimy invertebrates, slimy or wet looking animals and farm animals). Other things being equal, high disgust sensitivity either lost its predictive capability (in relation to dry or non-slimy invertebrates and slimy or wet looking animals) or predicted high fear of fear-relevant animals and of farm animals inequivalently across, respectively, the sexes (high in females only) and age groups (high in the old only). A multifactorial, interactionist approach should be advocated in the study of the aetiology of animal fears if progress in this area is to be achieved.
戴维的中介假设[戴维，G.C.L.（1994年）。英国成年人群体对常见本土动物的自我报告恐惧：厌恶敏感性的作用。《英国心理学杂志》，85，541 - 554。]表明，自我评估的动物恐惧中的性别差异可以由厌恶敏感性的性别差异来解释。一项实证检验未能在非临床样本（N = 214）中支持这一假设。在控制年龄、对污染的恐惧、性别角色、神经质、精神质和厌恶敏感性等混杂因素的影响后，生理性别始终是与四种动物恐惧类型（与恐惧相关的动物、干燥或非黏腻的无脊椎动物、黏腻或外观潮湿的动物以及农场动物）相关的显著预测因素。在其他条件相同的情况下，高厌恶敏感性要么失去其预测能力（与干燥或非黏腻的无脊椎动物以及黏腻或外观潮湿的动物相关时），要么分别在性别（仅女性中高）和年龄组（仅老年人中高）中对与恐惧相关的动物和农场动物的高度恐惧预测不相等。如果要在这一领域取得进展，在动物恐惧病因学研究中应提倡多因素、交互作用的方法。
