Effectiveness of Behavioral Therapy Based on Systematic Desensitization in Reducing Anxiety and Animal-Phobia Symptoms in Adolescents

Animal phobia is a common subtype of specific phobia and is often accompanied by marked anxiety, avoidance behavior, and functional impairment. Systematic desensitization is a behavioral intervention that combines relaxation training with gradual exposure to feared stimuli. This study examined the effectiveness of behavioral therapy based on systematic desensitization in reducing anxiety and animal-phobia symptoms among adolescents with animal phobia. A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design with a wait-list control group was used. Twenty-seven adolescents aged 15-18 years were recruited from counseling centers in Mashhad, Iran, after a clinical screening interview guided by DSM-5 criteria for specific phobia and an elevated score on the animal-phobia item set of the Specific Phobia Questionnaire. Participants were randomly allocated to an experimental group (n = 13) or a wait-list control group (n = 14). The experimental group received eight weekly 60-minute sessions of systematic desensitization, whereas the control group received no active intervention during the study period. Outcomes were assessed using the Beck Anxiety Inventory and 10 animal-related items from the Specific Phobia Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and univariate analysis of covariance, controlling for pretest scores. After controlling for pretest scores, the experimental group showed significantly lower posttest anxiety than the control group, F(1, 24) = 64.37, p < .001, partial eta squared = .728. A significant intervention effect was also observed for animal-phobia symptoms, F(1, 24) = 28.98, p < .001, partial eta squared = .547. These findings suggest that systematic desensitization may be a useful structured intervention for reducing anxiety and animal-phobia symptoms in adolescents. However, the small sample size, reliance on self-report outcomes, lack of behavioral approach testing, and absence of follow-up assessment require cautious interpretation. Future studies with larger samples, active control conditions, clinician-rated outcomes, and follow-up assessments are recommended.