Nightmare prevalence in an outpatient pediatric psychiatry population: A brief report.

We report findings of nightmare screening conducted at an outpatient pediatric psychiatry facility. A total of 806 children were seen at the clinic over the period of the study; 782 parents of patients aged 3 to 17 received paper-and-pencil screeners. Of those, 678 (86.7%) completed the screeners, and 276 (40.7%) were positive for nightmares, with most children remembering their nightmares. A total of 89 (32.2%) “always” remembered their nightmares, and 165 (59.8%) “sometimes” remembered the nightmares. In addition, 155 (56.2%) had nightmares the week prior, and of those, 59 (38.1%) “always” remembered the nightmares and 82 (52.9%) “sometimes” remembered. Aggregated electronic medical record data found that of the 806 patients seen during the study period, 12 (0.01%) had been diagnosed with nightmare disorder, 129 (16%) had been diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder, and 24 (0.03%) had acute stress disorder. Although electronic medical record data showed that few children with chronic nightmares were identified by clinicians, many families were interested in treatment. We join with researchers of adult populations in calling for routine screening of nightmares. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
Source: Dreaming - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research