Seeking help for nightmares in adolescents
Somnologie - Schlafforschung und Schlafmedizin December 8, 2023 DOI: 10.1007/s11818-023-00436-1 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 100 |
| Population | Adolescents with a mean age of 15.30 ± 0.80 years, 50 female and 50 male |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Keywords | Distressing Nothing Clinical psychology |
| Key findings | None of the adolescents ever sought professional help for nightmares, despite 21 reporting frequent or distressing nightmares. |
Abstract
Abstract Research indicates that adults suffering from nightmares rarely seek professional help for their condition. However, nothing is known about the help-seeking behavior in adolescents with frequent nightmares. In a sample of 100 adolescents (50 female, 50 male) with a mean age of 15.30 ± 0.80 years, it was found that none of them ever sought professional help for nightmares, even though 21 participants (15 females, 6 males) reported frequent nightmares (once a week or more often) and/or quite or very distressing nightmares. As nightmares are associated with a variety of mental problems in adolescents and can persist into adulthood, it seems very important to find ways to reduce the number of untreated nightmare sufferers in this age group.