Bibliotherapy, particularly when supplemented with therapist contact, has emerged as an effective treatment for anxiety symptoms in children. However, its effectiveness in treating specific phobias in young children has been explored in only one study which targeted nighttime fears. The current study tested a novel bibliotherapy for fears of dogs in four to seven-year-old children. The therapy was conducted over four weeks and was supplemented with brief, weekly videoconference calls with a therapist. A non-concurrent multiple baseline design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of this treatment in a sample of seven children between four and seven years of age. Significant reductions in specific phobia diagnostic severity, parent and child fear ratings, and child avoidance during a behavioral approach task were all observed. Additionally, treatment adherence, retention, and satisfaction were all high. Future research is needed to replicate the findings in larger, more heterogeneous samples and to explore possible predictive variables; however, this study provides initial support for bibliotherapy as a non-intensive, first-line intervention for specific phobias in young children.

阅读疗法，特别是辅以治疗师接触，已成为治疗儿童焦虑症状的有效方法。然而，只有一项针对夜间恐惧的研究探索了它在治疗幼儿特定恐惧症方面的有效性。目前的研究针对 4 至 7 岁儿童对狗的恐惧测试了一种新的阅读疗法。治疗进行了四个多星期，并辅以每周与治疗师进行的简短视频电话会议。使用非同时多基线设计来评估这种治疗在 7 名 4 至 7 岁儿童样本中的有效性。在行为方法任务期间，特定恐惧症诊断严重程度、父母和儿童恐惧评级以及儿童回避都显着降低。此外，治疗依从性、保留率和满意度都很高。未来的研究需要在更大、更异质的样本中复制这些发现，并探索可能的预测变量；然而，这项研究初步支持阅读疗法作为针对幼儿特定恐惧症的非强化、一线干预措施。