safety behavior.

An action used to prevent a feared outcome or reduce anxiety in a situation experienced as threatening.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• rely on a safety behavior
• identify safety behaviors
• reduce a safety behavior

On the page

In the therapy notes, repeated exit-checking was identified as a safety behavior.

Her clinician asked what feared outcome each safety behavior was meant to prevent.

Carrying the card had become a safety behavior even when she never read it.

Usage notes

Primary category: fear. Psychology term: function matters. Ordinary prudent safety measures are not automatically maladaptive safety behaviors; some anxiety-driven strategies may maintain fear. British spelling behaviour. Count noun. Count plural: safety behaviors.