The universe of specific phobias is almost endless . Let’s say that we could describe as many specific phobias as there are people in the world, fruit of individual variability, which is why in the nosological manuals only the most frequent ones appear.

For example, we can find people who are afraid of humans (anthropophobia), beards (pogonophobia), stairs (bathmophobia), flowers (anthrophobia), dust and dirt (amatophobia) and many more, these phobias being rare.

In this article we will discuss a relatively common type of specific phobia, which can be categorized within animal phobias: museophobia .

What is musophobia?

The DSM-IV-TR and the DSM-5 distinguish different types of specific phobias (APA, 2000, 2013):

  • Animal : fear is caused by one or more types of animals. The most feared animals are usually snakes, spiders, insects, cats, rats, mice and birds (Antony and Barlow, 1997).
  • Natural environment: storms, wind, water, darkness
  • Blood/injections/body damage (SID)
  • Situational : using public transport, tunnels, bridges, lifts, flying in a plane…
  • Other types: situations that can lead to choking or vomiting, fear of people in disguise…

Thus, musophobia would consist of intense and persistent fear or anxiety that is triggered by the presence of mice or rodents in general and/or the anticipation of them. According to the DSM-5, the anxiety must be disproportionate to the danger or threat posed by the situation and to the socio-cultural context. In addition, the phobia must last at least 6 months.

Symptoms of this phobia

People with musophobia are especially afraid of the movements of mice, especially if they are sudden; they may also fear their physical appearance, the sounds they make and their tactile properties .

One of the defining psychological elements of musophobia in people who suffer from it is that there is both a disproportionate reaction of fear (by focusing on the perceived danger) and a feeling of disgust or repugnance.

Although the studies provide discordant data, the reaction of fear seems to predominate over the reaction of disgust. In addition, both reactions are reduced with Live Exposure, as we will see in the Treatment section.

To protect themselves from unexpected encounters, people with musophobia may employ a variety of defensive behaviors: over-checking places to make sure that there are no mice nearby or asking other people to do so, wearing over-protective clothing when walking in the field, being accompanied by a trusted person and staying away from a mouse that can be seen.

Age of onset and prevalence

In epidemiological studies with adults, the mean age of onset is 8-9 years for animal phobia . No epidemiological data are available regarding musophobia.

Considering the different types of EF, the prevalence-life-data obtained in the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (Stinson et al., 2007) were: natural environment (5.9%), situational (5.2%), animal (4.7%) and SID (4.0%).

Causes (genesis and maintenance)

How does a person develop musophobia? Why do some children develop this fear?
These questions can be answered by following Barlow (2002), who differentiates three types of determinants in developing a specific phobia such as musophobia:

1. Biological vulnerability

It consists of a genetically determined neurobiological hypersensitivity to stress and includes temperamental traits that have a strong genetic component. Among the main ones are neuroticism, introversion, negative affectivity (stable and inherited tendency to experience a wide range of negative feelings) and behavioural inhibition in the face of the unknown .

2. Widespread psychological vulnerability

It is the perception, based on early experience, that stressful situations and/or reactions to them are unpredictable and/or uncontrollable. Among the early experiences we find the overprotective educational style (hypercontroller), the rejection by the parents, insecure bonds of attachment , occurrence of traumatic events in coexistence with little effective strategies to confront stress.

3. Specific psychological vulnerability

It is based on the person’s learning experiences. Anxiety resulting from generalized biological and psychological vulnerability is focused on certain situations or events (e.g., mice), which are then considered threatening or even dangerous. For example, a direct negative experience with a mouse in childhood can generate a learning experience that the animal is threatening and dangerous.

Psychological treatment of musophobia

Although it had been claimed that phobic fears may recede without treatment in childhood and adolescence, the general trend does not appear to be this way.

The most effective and well-known treatment is the cognitive-behavioural with live exposure (EV). Before starting the EV, it is advisable to give information about the mice and correct possible erroneous beliefs about them.

A hierarchy of exposure should also be made, taking into account the person’s subjective levels of anxiety. Some ideas to work on the situations feared and/or avoided are: talking about the animal, seeing photos or videos of mice, going to pet shops where there are mice, touching and stroking the mice and feeding them… Another option is to use exposure through virtual reality .

Participatory modeling to treat musophobia

EV can be used alone or combined with modeling, resulting in the procedure known as participant modeling; this combination has been really useful to treat animal-type phobias.

At each step in the hierarchy the therapist or other model(s) repeatedly or extensively exemplifies the relevant activity, explains, if necessary, how to perform the activity and gives information about the feared objects or situations (in our case, about mice).

After modeling a task, the therapist asks the client to perform it and provides social reinforcement for their progress and corrective feedback .

If the person has difficulties or does not dare to perform the task, various aids are provided. For example, in the case of musophobia, these could be cited: acting together with the therapist, limitation of mouse movements, means of protection (gloves), reduction of the time required in the task, increase of the distance to the feared object, re-modelling of the threatening activity, use of multiple models, company of loved ones or pets.

These aids are withdrawn until the client is able to perform the task relatively quietly and on their own (self-directed practice); therefore the therapist should not be present. Self-directed practice must be carried out in a variety of contexts to encourage generalization.