While needle phobia is not age-specific, it is more common in children than in adults. The latest research from all fields indicates that needle-fear is predominant among children fears with some research claiming that up to 93% of children experience [needle-related] stress." Many studies have been performed investigating psychosocial methods of helping children cope with their fear. Current research in this area has investigated several types of non-invasive treatments to aid children in their needle phobia. These can be categorized into distraction techniques and other methods. These techniques offer safer, cheaper alternatives to drug or anesthetic treatments (see Treatment). Distraction treatments Distraction treatments take advantage of the brain's inability to pay full attention to two things at once. Distraction works by passively or actively redirecting the child's attention away from the needle in the medical procedure at hand, leaving "less attention available to perceive pain." Taking the child's attention from the needle also lessens his or her ability to feel anxiety; this is important because a large part of needle phobia is the anticipatory stress caused by the needle. This phenomenon is referred to as an "analgesic effect," meaning "pain-relieving effect." Distraction treatments can be divided into passive and active distraction. Passive distraction Passive distraction is defined for the following studies as a form of distraction that commands the child's attention but does not require any participation on the child's part. The following studies used television to display movies or cartoons as a form of passive distraction. Several studies have investigated the analgesic effect that these can provide during venipuncture. Active distraction Active distraction is defined as a form of distraction that requires the patient's participation. Most of the studies investigating active distraction and its effect on children's fear of needles had the children play with a toy. Several also used nurses and the child's caregiver(s) to actively distract the child. Studies investigating distraction treatments Paediatric Nursing Magazine reviewed several studies that investigated distraction techniques for children during venipuncture. In one of the covered studies, Cohen concluded in a study that watching a children's movie decreased the child's stress, more so than having the child play with an "interactive toy." Bellieni et al performed a comprehensive study on active and passive distraction at the University of Siena, Italy. They studied 69 children aged 7–12 that were scheduled to undergo venipuncture. To be included in the study, children had to fit