Social Inheritance of Fear

Fear exists regardless of the person’s level of development or the culture of a people. Although it is an inevitable part of our lives, it does not mean that we are constantly aware of this fact. On the other hand, it seems always present and ready to invade our minds at any moment. Throughout our life, we learn to avoid it by applying various techniques and methods to push it away, to suppress or deny it. When we grow up, we have the mechanisms to deal with our fears, but just when we have successfully dealt with at least one of them, often a new one appears, and we sometimes go into a vicious circle that is difficult to change. Then the question arises of where do children’s fears come from? The present study in its first part presents an attempt for theoretical representation related to the experience of fear. In the other part, it presents an empirical study conducted among 126 parents. The research searches the link between the personal characteristics of parents and the temperamental characteristics of children. It’s related to the theory of social inheritance which is part of project funded under Contract No КП-06-M25/4 of 12.17.2018 concluded with the Research Fund of the Republic of Bulgaria. The report only looks at the connections that concern social inheritance of fear.