Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 11, 2026

Behavioral Assessment of Hearing in 2 to 4 Year-old Children: A Two-interval, Observer-based Procedure Using Conditioned Play-based Responses
Published on: January 23, 2017
Abstract:
This report is on the prevalence of somniloquy, as revealed by a populational survey of 2,022 schoolchildren aged from 3 to 10 years. Data were collected by means of a multiple choice questionnaire aimed at the investigation of sleep characteristics (sleep characteristics questionnaire-SCQ) and submitted to statistical analysis. The objective was to detect the prevalence of sleep-talk and influence of age, sex and socioeconomic class on its frequency. About half the children of all ages presented somniloquy at least once a year, but less than 10% presented it everyday. No clearmarked correlation with age, sex or socioeconomic class was found. These results do not confirm the generally accepted notion that there is a higher prevalence in the beginning of the first decade of life and suggest also the necessity of further quantitative and objective assessment of this phenomenon.
Related Concept Videos
Sleepwalking and Sleep Talking
Factors that increase the likelihood of sleepwalking include sleep deprivation and alcohol consumption. Contrary to common beliefs, it is safe...
REM Sleep Behavior Disorder
RBD is significantly associated with...
Nightmares and Night Terrors
Nightmares often...
Language Development
The critical period for language acquisition suggests that the ability to acquire language is at its peak early in life. As people age, this proficiency decreases. Language development begins very...
Psychosexual Theory of Development
The Five Stages of Psychosexual Development
Freud's psychosexual...
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Diagnostic Criteria and Symptoms
To diagnose ADHD, symptoms must manifest before age 12 and be evident across multiple settings.

