To diagnose your child with a phobia, their doctor will conduct a clinical interview and take a full medical, social, and psychiatric history. They will use guidelines from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5) by the American Psychiatric Association. The DSM-5 classifies a specific phobia as an anxiety disorder. Its diagnostic criteria includes:
Marked fear or anxiety about a specific object or situation.
The phobic object or situation almost always provokes immediate fear or anxiety.
The fear or anxiety is out of proportion with the actual danger posed by the specific object or situation and to the sociocultural context.
The phobic object or situation is actively avoided or endured with intense fear or anxiety.
The fear, anxiety, or avoidance causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.
The fear, anxiety, or avoidance is persistent, typically lasting for 6 months or more.
The disturbance is not better explained by the symptoms of another mental disorder.