Skip to content

Nightmares: Knowledge and attitudes in health care providers and nightmare sufferers

J. Thnker, Maria Norpoth, M. Von Aspern, T. Zcan, Reinhard Pietrowsky

Journal of Public Health and Epidemiology July 31, 2014 DOI: 10.5897/jphe2013.0565 (opens in new tab)

Relevant Not relevant

Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Survey Peer reviewed
Sample size 554
Population 219 German health care providers (primary care, psychiatrists, psychotherapists, in-patient and out-patient) and 335 nightmare sufferers
Topics Dreaming
Citations 23
Key findings All groups overestimated nightmare prevalence, and stress, traumatic events, and inner conflicts were rated the leading causes. Only a minority of sufferers used coping strategies on their own, rating them moderately helpful, and about one third sought help, mainly from general practitioners and specialists, rating it only a little helpful. Providers considered nightmares and their treatment need moderately important.

Abstract

Chronic nightmares have a prevalence of 3 to 8% in the general population, but they seem not to play a relevant role in the health care system despite the existence of evidence-based treatments. The aim of this study was to identify nightmare-related knowledge, attitudes and coping approaches in the German mental health care system. A total of 219 health-care providers (primary care, psychiatrists, psychotherapists, in-patient versus out-patient) and another 335 nightmare sufferers were interviewed by telephone and/or filled out self-rating questionnaires. They were asked to estimate nightmare prevalence, to specify nightmare causes and how they cope with nightmares. Health care providers were asked to estimate the relevance of nightmares and the need for treatment. All groups overestimated the prevalence of nightmares. Stress, traumatic events and inner conflicts were rated the highest regarding the possible causes of nightmares, with small differences between the groups. Only a minority of nightmare sufferers tried coping strategies on their own and rated them as being moderately helpful. About one third asked health care providers for help, mainly from general practitioners and medical specialists, but rated this a little helpful. Health care providers rated the relevance of nightmares and the need for treatment as being of moderate importance. Given the high prevalence of clinically relevant nightmares and the fact that helpful and efficient treatment approaches exist, all parts of the health care system as well as the nightmare sufferers need to be better informed. That may help to decrease nightmare disorders. Key words: Nightmares, health care system, treatment, coping.

Comparable studies

Other cross-sectional and survey studies on dreaming, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
Insomnia Symptoms, Nightmares, and Suicidal Ideation in a College Student Sample Undergraduate students at a large, public university in the southeastern United States 2011 Observational cross-sectional survey n = 583
Prevalence and Correlates of Frequent Nightmares: A Community-Based 2-Phase Study Middle-aged Hong Kong Chinese adults from the community, mean age 40.9 years (SD 5.5,... 2010 Cross-sectional survey with subsequent clinical evaluation (two-phase design) n = 8,558
Factors of home dream recall: a structural equation model Adults (general population sample) 2003 Cross-sectional survey with structural equation modeling n = 444
The Phenomenology of Lucid Dreaming: An Online Survey Respondents to an online survey about lucid dreams 2014 Online survey n = 684
Frequency of Lucid Dreaming in a Representative German Sample Representative sample of German adults 2011 Cross-sectional survey n = 919

Citations in the library

Cited by 17

and 12 more in the library

Cites 12

and 7 more in the library

Related reading

Explore topics

Dreaming PTSD