An empirical investigation of the role of fainting status in blood -injection -injury phobia: Cognitive, emotional, and behavioral factors

The present study evaluated the model proposed by Stump (2003) in which two distinct subtypes of blood-injection-injury (BII) phobia were identified: fainting BII phobia, and non-fainting BII phobia. Participants with elevated BII fears (25 fainters, 42 non-fainters) completed questionnaires, watched a video of an amputation surgery, and completed a questionnaire assessing their emotions, thoughts, and physical responses during the video. Participants also responded to a structured interview assessing the nature and development of their fears, including potential conditioning events contributing to their fears. Results indicated that fainters reported more overall BII fear and more BII-related disgust sensitivity than non-fainters. Fainters were also more likely to close their eyes during the video, and reported more overall negative cognitions during the video than non-fainters. Two separate exploratory logistic regression analyses produced models in which 76% and 74% of total cases were correctly predicted, although only 56% of fainters were correctly categorized in both models. Overall, the results provided mixed support for the model proposed by Stump (2003). Results are consistent with the idea that fainting may be indicative of a more severe form of BII phobia, rather than a characteristic of a separate type