© 2019 JETIR January 2019, Volume 6, Issue 1 www.jetir.org (ISSN-2349-5162) Hodophobia in High School Students, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India Sankara Pitchaiah Podila and Nazia Sultana Department of Geology, Acharya Nagarjuna University, Andhra Pradesh, India Abstract-Hodophobia, a fear of travel, is a type of specific phobia. The present study was aimed to know the Hodophobia among 8th to 10th studying students in rural and urban Government schools. The response was taken from 3399 students (8th:1175, 9th:1095, 10th:1129). The study found that the phobia was more in Namburu school students (25.00%). In the urban schools the highest percentage was noticed in SK school (29.02). Homeopathy, Exposure based therapy, Cognitive therapy are some of the useful treatment methods. Parents shall not neglect any specific phobia, which can influence the future. Keywords: Hodophobia, specific phobia, anxiety disorder, treatment, rural and urban high school students I. INTRODUCTION Hodophobia is an irrational fear, or phobia, of travel (Ronald, 2010). It is also referred to as a travel phobia or fear of travel ("healthcentral: Hodophobia (2018). The origin of the word hodo is Greek (meaning traveling or road) and phobia is Greek (meaning fear). Some people are afraid only of specific methods of transportation, such as planes or trains, while others fear all types of trips (https://www.verywellmind.com). At one point or another, as many as 12.5% of Americans will struggle with a phobia “an intense, irrational fear of something that poses little or no actual danger” according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Of these, a fear of flying, or aviophobia, is one of the most common, with an estimated prevalence ranging from 2.5% to 6.5% of the population (http://time.com). Specific terminology is used for specific travel phobia, for ex., Aviophobia for fear of flying, Siderodromophobia for fear of the train journey. The present study was carried out to know the extent of the Hodophobia among 8th to 10th class students, studying in rural and urban Government schools. Symptoms As with any phobia, the symptoms vary by person depending on their level of fear. The symptoms typically include extreme anxiety, dread and anything associated with panic such as shortness of breath, rapid breathing, irregular heartbeat, sweating, excessive sweating, nausea, dry mouth, nausea, inability to articulate words or sentences, dry mouth and shaking (http://common- phobias.com). Causes It is generally accepted that phobias arise from a combination of external events (i.e. traumatic events) and internal predispositions (i.e. heredity or genetics). Many specific phobias can be traced back to a specific triggering event, usually a traumatic experience at an early age. It is believed that heredity, genetics, and brain chemistry combine with life-experiences to play a major role in the development of phobias. (Wikipedia - phobia) (http://common-phobias.com). II. METHODOLOGY A total of 3399 students was participated, out of them 1175 are studying 8th, 1095 are 9th and 1129 are 10th class. 1342 were studied in seven rural schools and 2057 in seven urban schools. Details are shown in Tables 1 and 2. Students were assembled in a classroom of the respective schools and asked them to give their response to a single question-“Do you have a fear of journey?”. The purpose of the study and the details regarding the phobia were explained in their mother tongue. The response was analyzed using statistical analysis. Percent variation was observed and presented under results and discussion. Table 1 Class Wise Rural School Student’s Strength No. of 8th No. of students 10th No. of School students with 9th School with School Students with School Strength Hodophobia Strength Hodophobia strength Hodophobia Chinakakani 59 3 56 4 49 4 Namburu girls’ 30 2 21 0 30 1 Namburu 97 8 96 16 86 10 JETIR1901925 Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR) www.jetir.org 169 © 2019 JETIR January 2019, Volume 6, Issue 1 www.jetir.org (ISSN-2349-5162) Ponnekallu 92 8 78 9 86 6 Takkellapadu 64 3 47 8 47 3 Tadikonda girls’ 49 12 57 6 49 8 Venigalla 79 7 69 4 101 14 Table 2 Class Wise Urban School Student’s Strength No. of No. of 8th students students 10th No. of School with 9th School with School Students with School Strength Hodophobia Strength Hodophobia strength Hodophobia SK 173 32 159 8 189 25 SGNKR 66 4 89 9 77 10 SJRR 130 11 93 11 93 13 SKS 100 3 94 9 116 20 P 92 1 83 3 77 6 KSR 51 6 77 10 53 5 SCMP 93 21 76 8 76 9 III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION A percent variation of the rural and urban students, those suffering from Hodophobia was shown in tables 2 and 3 and figures 1 and 2 and is explained below. Rural Schools 8th class Highest percent of Tadikonda girls’ (24.49) were marked the Hodophobia, followed by Venigalla (8.86%) and Ponnekallu (8.70%). The lowest percent was noticed with Takkellapadu school (4.69%). 9th Class 17.02% of Takkellapadu school students had expressed the Hodophobia, followed by Namburu school students (16.67%) and Ponnekallu (11.54%). No student was expressed the phobia from Namburu girls. 10th Class Highest percent of Tadikonda girls’ students (16.33) were marked the Hodophobia, followed by Venigalla (13.86%) and Namburu (11.63%). The problem is low in Namburu girls’ (3.33%). Table 3 Hodophobia Among Rural School Students (%) Schools 8th 9th 10th Chinakakani 5.08 7.14 8.16 Namburu girls 6.67 0.00 3.33 Namburu 8.25 16.67 11.63 Ponnekallu 8.70 11.54 6.98 Takkellapadu 4.69 17.02 6.38 Tadikonda girls 24.49 10.53 16.33 Venigalla 8.86 5.80 13.86 30.00 25.00 20.00 % 15.00 10.00 8th 5.00 0.00 9th 10th Schools Figure 1 Percent variation of Hodophobia in rural school students Urban Schools 8th Class JETIR1901925 Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR) www.jetir.org 170 © 2019 JETIR January 2019, Volume 6, Issue 1 www.jetir.org (ISSN-2349-5162) 22.58% of SCMP students were pointed Hodophobia, followed by SK (18.50%) and KSR (11.76%). The lowest percent was observed with P (1.09%). 9th Class Highest percent of KSR (12.99) school students had Hodophobia, followed by SJRR (11.83%) and SCMP (10.53%). The lowest percent was observed in P students (7.79%). 10th Class 17.24% of SKS students were suffering from Hodophobia, followed by SJRR (13.98%) and SK (13.23%). The lowest percent was observed in SCMP (6.58%). Table 4 Hodophobia Among Urban School Students (%) Schools 8th 9th 10th SK 18.50 5.03 13.23 SGNKR 6.06 10.11 12.99 SJRR 8.46 11.83 13.98 SKS 3.00 9.57 17.24 P 1.09 3.61 7.79 KSR 11.76 12.99 9.43 SCMP 22.58 10.53 11.84 25.00 20.00 15.00 8th % 10.00 9th 5.00 10th 0.00 SK SGNKR SJRR SKS P KSR SCMP Schools Figure 2 Percent variation of Hodophobia in urban school students Comparative study Rural schools Comparison of Hodophobia among 8th to 10th class rural and urban students was shown in table 5 and figure 3). Among the rural schools, high percent of Namburu students (25.00) had Hodophobia followed by Tadikonda girls (19.12%) and Venigalla (18.38%). The lowest percent was observed with Namburu girls (2.21%). Table 5 Comparative Study of Hodophobia (%) Rural Schools (%) Urban Schools (%) Chinakakani 8.09 SK 29.02 Namburu girls 2.21 SGNKR 10.27 Namburu 25.00 SJRR 15.63 Ponnekallu 16.91 SKS 14.29 Takkellapadu 10.29 P 4.46 Tadikonda girls 19.12 KSR 9.38 Venigalla 18.38 SCMP 16.96 Urban schools In the case of urban schools, high percent of SK students (29.02) had an Hodophobia (Table 4 and Figure 4), followed by SCMP (16.96%), SJRR (15.63%) and SKS (14.29%). The lowest percent was observed with P (4.46%). JETIR1901925 Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR) www.jetir.org 171 © 2019 JETIR January 2019, Volume 6, Issue 1 www.jetir.org (ISSN-2349-5162) 30.00 25.00 20.00 % 15.00 10.00 5.00 0.00 Schools Figure 3 Comparison within the rural school students 35.00 30.00 25.00 20.00 % 15.00 10.00 5.00 0.00 SK SGNKR SJRR SKS P KSR SCMP Schools Figure 4 Comparison within the Urban school students Treatment Methods There are certain therapies by which this phobia is treatable. The main treatment of choice for specific phobias is Cognitive- behavioral (CBT). Behavioral techniques by which survivor is exposed to feared situations (gradually or rapidly) are frequently used. In addition, the patient is taught ways of stopping the panic reaction and regaining emotional control (Abbas and Kiran, 2015). Studies of interventions like CBT have reported rates of reduction in anxiety of around 80%, however, there is little evidence that any treatment can completely eliminate fear of flying (Oakes and Bor, 2010). Acute anxiety caused by flying can be treated with anti-anxiety medication. The condition can be treated with exposure therapy, including use of virtual reality equipment, which works better when combined with cognitive behavioral therapy. Relaxation techniques and education about aviation safety can also be helpful in combination with other approaches Mulcahy et al., (2016) and Oakes and Bor (2010). Around 60% of people with fear of flying report having any other anxiety disorder (Clark and Rock, 2016).