Insect-related fear and avoidance among Iranian school-aged children: associations with knowledge, behavioral responses, and reported family fear

Insect-related fear and avoidance (IRFA) and arachnophobia, excessive fear of insects and spiders, emerge early in life and can affect children’s engagement with nature and biodiversity. Despite their ecological importance, limited data exist on the factors associated with insect- and arachnid-related fear and avoidance in non-Western contexts. This study aimed to characterize knowledge about insects, IRFA, behavioral responses toward insects, and personal fear/anxiety, and to examine demographic, family-contextual, and psychological factors associated with IRFA among school-aged students in Iran. An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted with 1,370 students (mean age 13.85 years; 68% female) in East Azerbaijan Province, Iran, using multistage stratified random sampling. A validated 32-item questionnaire assessed knowledge about insects, IRFA, behavioral responses toward insects, and personal fear/anxiety. Multiple linear regression was used to examine adjusted associations between IRFA and the primary explanatory and sociodemographic variables. Mean scores were 14.82 (3.26) for knowledge, 62.16 (19.41) for IRFA, 7.44 (2.77) for behavioral responses, and 14.88 (5.09) for personal fear/anxiety. IRFA was moderately positively correlated with personal fear/anxiety ( r = 0.440, P < 0.001) and behavioral responses ( r = 0.337, P < 0.001), while its correlation with knowledge was weak and inverse ( r = − 0.108, P < 0.001). In the adjusted multivariable model, higher behavioral-response scores (β = 0.210), personal fear/anxiety (β = 0.314), and reported family fear of insects (β = 0.098) were independently associated with higher IRFA scores, whereas male gender (β = −0.151) and private-school attendance (β = −0.080) were associated with lower IRFA. Knowledge showed a nonlinear association with IRFA, with a negative linear component (β = −0.136) and a significant negative quadratic component (β = −0.123; P < 0.001). The estimated turning point was approximately 11.8 on the 4–20 knowledge scale. The model explained 29.7% of the variance in IRFA (adjusted R² = 0.287). IRFA scores indicated a moderate level of fear and avoidance among Iranian school-aged children. Significant associations observed between IRFA and personal fear/anxiety, behavioral response, reported family fear of insects, and knowledge about insects. These findings support a multidimensional understanding of children’s insect- and arachnid-related fear and avoidance, while not representing clinical diagnoses of specific phobias. Educational and exposure-based approaches may warrant further investigation in relation to fear-related responses and ecological literacy.