Synapse
⌘+K
Synapse
PulseExploreClubsResearchersJournals
Instagram
HomeClubsExplore
August 19, 2026Human Dimensions of Wildlife

Young minds, big fish: exploring two to twelve-year-old’s descriptions and fear of sharks

View Full Paper
Ask AI
Bookmark
Share

Authors

BBB. Le BusqueCAC. AmbrosiJGJ. Gleaves

Discussion

Loading...

Member takes

Overview

Cross-sectional survey reveals age-related increases in shark fear among young children, indicating early media exposure shapes conservation attitudes.

Key Points

  • To explore how children aged 2–12 perceive, experience, and describe sharks, and to identify age-related trends in shark-related fear.
  • Online parent-proxy survey of 323 parents reporting on 374 children aged 2–12 across 17 countries and regions.
  • Qualitative and quantitative analysis of shark exposure sources and open-ended descriptions of attitudes toward sharks.
  • Children most frequently encountered sharks via books (65%), aquariums (59%), and television (38%), with roughly two-thirds reporting positive feelings based on appearance or behavior.
  • Overall, 13.9% of children associated sharks with fear or danger, with fear-related descriptions demonstrating a statistically significant increase with age.

Cite This Study

Busque et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a8563c403308d306e2d71a9https://doi.org/10.1080/10871209.2026.2717285
View Full Paper
Ask AI
Bookmark
Share

Also Consider

Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context:

  1. 1Aggressive shark displays: a quantitative analysis of its impact on shark tourism2024
  2. 2From words to worries: A cross-cultural comparison of parent-child conversations about snakes in early childhood.2026 · 1 citations
  3. 3Documenting perceptions and misconceptions of shark conservation among students in Ghanaian coastal communities within the context of shark tourism2024 · 2 citations
  4. 4Integrative and Comparative Biology X Women in Ocean Science research article: Justifying, creating and legalising a framework for the protection of sharks in Bahraini waters2026
  5. 5“Nobody Here Likes Her”—The Impact of Parental Verbal Threat Information on Children's Fear of Strangers2024