Abstract
Nighttime fears in childhood are associated with anxiety, sleeping problems, and daytime behavioral problems. This article presents a case study of a brief intervention for severe nighttime fears and co-sleeping problems in an eight-year-old girl. The treatment consisted of instructing the parents to read the book Dormindo com Rafi: Boa Noite Filhote (Sleeping with Rafi: Good Night, Darling) to their daughter for a four-week period, besides encouraging her to adopt a bedtime routine and to sleep on her own. Nighttime fear, sleep patterns, and behavioral problems were assessed with parent-report measures, and the girl was asked to track her nighttime fears using a visual analogue scale. The results showed an increase in the number of nights the child slept in her own bed and a reduction of nighttime fears, which were maintained at the 3-month follow-up. This study provides initial support for the use of this brief intervention that enlisted basic behavioral principles such as shaping, modeling, systematic desensitization, and reinforcement in the treatment of nighttime fears in children.
Keywords:
Behavior Therapy; Anxiety; Sleep Disorders; Case Study; Brief Psychotherapy
Thumbnail
Thumbnail
