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Updated: Jul 15, 2026

Measuring Attentional Biases for Threat in Children and Adults
Published on: October 19, 2014
Nighttime fears of children and adolescents: frequency, content, severity, harm expectations, disclosure, and coping
Jocelynne Gordon1, Neville King, Eleonora Gullone
1Faculty of Education, Monash University, Australia. Jocelynne.Gordon@Education.monash.edu.au
Abstract:
The present school-based study investigated the nighttime fears of 511 children and adolescents, aged 8-16 years. Participants were assessed using a structured interview about the frequency, content, severity, harm expectations, coping strategies, and disclosure of nighttime fears. Results indicated that nighttime fears are a common experience, with nearly two-thirds (64.2%) of children and adolescents reporting nighttime fears. Fear of intruders/home invasion was the most frequently reported nighttime fear. Females more frequently reported nighttime fears than males (72.9% and 54.6%, respectively) and a greater number of children reported nighttime fears compared to adolescents (79.4% and 48.8%, respectively). Nighttime fears were given moderate severity ratings, and harm expectations were most strongly associated with 'personal security' fears. Respondents reported a variety of coping strategies to manage their nighttime fears with self-control/distraction techniques being the most common. Most respondents reported disclosing their nighttime fear(s) to another person. The clinical implications of these findings and the methodological limitations are discussed.
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