Schredl M, Pallmer R
Prax Kinderpsychol Kinderpsychiatr. 1997 Jan;46(1):36-56.
Childhood nightmares are till today a very common phenomenon. The highest prevalence seems to be at about age six, decreasing strongly with age and no gender-specific differences in prevalence rates can be pinpointed for sure. The most frequently occurring nightmare themes are "Being chased", followed by dreams of "Falling" and those concerning, "Loss of close persons". As reasons for such dreams such factors as genetic influence, trait anxiety, traumatic experiences have been assumed, whereas a more comprehensive explanation model-which would take developmental issues into consideration-unfortunately does not yet exist. Numerous case studies have confirmed that childhood nightmares are easily treatable, especially where such children are encouraged to confront and cope with their anxiety. Further research such as longitudinal studies that would examine dream contents and children's waking-life experiences would be useful for a better overall understanding of the nightmare phenomenon and the causes behind their occurrence. In addition, it seems to be useful to inform parents, child caretakers, teachers and children about the simple methods in dealing with nightmares.
儿童噩梦至今仍是一种非常普遍的现象。最高发病率似乎在六岁左右，随后随着年龄的增长而大幅下降，而且在发病率方面确实无法确定存在性别差异。最常出现的噩梦主题是“被追赶”，其次是“坠落”的梦境以及与“失去亲近之人”有关的梦境。作为此类梦境的原因，人们假定了诸如遗传影响、特质焦虑、创伤经历等因素，然而，一个更全面的、能将发育问题考虑在内的解释模型不幸尚未存在。大量案例研究证实，儿童噩梦很容易治疗，尤其是当鼓励此类儿童面对并应对他们的焦虑时。进一步的研究，如纵向研究，考察梦境内容和儿童清醒时的生活经历，将有助于更好地全面理解噩梦现象及其发生背后的原因。此外，向家长、儿童保育员、教师和儿童介绍应对噩梦的简单方法似乎也很有用。
