The emotional impact of frightening stories on children

This study of the impact of fairy tales examined catharsis vs repetition compulsion hypotheses. Children with high- or low-trait anxiety, aged 6-9 (n = 132), listened either to a frightening story, a frightening-happy end story, a pause story (for measuring anxiety), or a neutral story. They were tested for state anxiety before and afterwards and their preference for a second hearing was evaluated. The procedure was repeated after three weeks. The findings show an increase in anxiety following the frightening story only. Preference and state anxiety correlated positively in the frightening story (repetition compulsion) and negatively in the pause story (catharsis). It was concluded that anxiety is elicited by the frightening elements of the story, rather than the unconscious symbolic content.