Seeking help for nightmares in adolescents

AbstractResearch 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 o r 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.

Source: Somnologie - Schlafforschung und Schlafmedizin - December 8, 2023 Category: Sleep Medicine Source Type: research