People with ephebiphobia fear teenagers. They may view adolescents negatively, mistakenly thinking all teens have bad or violent behavior. A traumatic accident involving teenagers may cause ephebiphobia. A person with ephebiphobia may avoid all situations that involve seeing or interacting with teens. Psychotherapies can help.
People who have ephebiphobia (pronounced “efee-bi-FO-bee-ah”) have an extreme fear of adolescents or teenagers. The word comes from a combination of two Greek words: “ephebos,” meaning youth or adolescence, and “phobos,” which means fear.
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A person with a fear of teenagers may be afraid of anything that exposes them to adolescents — in-person, online or on TV. They may be fearful of:
Phobias are a type of anxiety disorder. People with a specific phobia develop an extreme, illogical fear of something that isn’t typically harmful.
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Phobias can affect children, adolescents and adults. At some point in their lives, approximately 1 in 10 American adults develop a specific phobic disorder. While ephebiphobia is specific to adults, there aren’t exact statistics on the number of adults with this phobia.
Healthcare professionals don’t know why some people are more likely than others to develop phobias. People with a family history of phobias or other anxiety disorders may be at higher risk.
Often, a phobia develops as a result of both your genetics and your environment. You may be more likely to develop ephebiphobia if you:
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It’s not uncommon to have more than one phobia, especially a combination of phobias that are related. Someone who has a fear of teenagers may also have:
People with phobias, such as ephebiphobia, often recognize that their fear is irrational. But this doesn’t make it easy to control their physical reactions when something triggers the fear.
People with a fear of teenagers may have a reaction while in a place filled with adolescents, seeing images of teenagers or even just thinking about teens.
Symptoms may include:
The American Psychiatric Association doesn’t recognize fear of teenagers as a phobic disorder in its diagnostic manual, the DSM-5. But a psychologist or another healthcare provider may evaluate your symptoms and diagnose the specific phobia.
You may have a specific phobic disorder if you have:
You can try practicing relaxation techniques (such as yoga, meditation or deep breathing) to help you cope with your phobia triggers. These can help relieve anxiety and other symptoms you experience when you see teenagers.
A mental health professional can help you overcome your fear of teenagers. Treatments may include:
A fear of teenagers may lead you to avoid places where adolescents hang out or situations in which you might encounter teens. You may even stay away from television shows, movies or social media that feature teenagers. This avoidance can cause you to miss out on fun or necessary parts of life.
Phobias also increase your risk of:
You should call your healthcare provider if you experience:
You may want to ask your healthcare provider:
A note from Cleveland Clinic
A fear of teenagers can make you afraid to go out or socialize in places where you might encounter young people. You may stereotype all teenagers as having bad or even violent behavior. A personally traumatic incident with adolescents or negative media exposure about teens may lead to ephebiphobia. A mental health provider can use treatments like talk therapy and exposure therapy to help you overcome this fear.
Last reviewed on 02/24/2022.
Learn more about the Health Library and our editorial process.
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Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. Policy