Investigation of entomophobia among agricultural students: the case of Shiraz University, Iran

Abstract

The most significant impact of some insects involves their role as primary vectors and alternate hosts of many devastating infectious disease agents. They also affect the health of vertebrates directly by triggering altered mental states such as entomophobia. Investigate entomophobia among agricultural students as they are an important group of people who deal with and are involved with insects in various ways. Understanding those factors that affect their attitudes to insects was the main objective of this study. The findings revealed that fear of insects are a current sense among them. Gender, having previous experience toward working with insects, and passing entomology course were factors that showed positive correlation with the entomophobia of respondents. Some related discussions and recommendations are presented at the end of this manuscript.

Keywords

• Agricultural students
• entomophobia
• fear of insects
• Iran.