A factor analytic investigation of children's nighttime fear and coping responses.
Checklists of children's nighttime fears and nighttime coping responses, completed by 178 8- to 13-year-old children and one of their parents, were factor analyzed. The resulting factors from each checklist were comparable for children and parents. The nighttime fear categories consisted of content around security either for one's personal life, loss, or safety or for others' safety and continued presence; imaginal-numinous concerns; and characteristics inherent in a nighttime situation. The coping categories consisted of responses related to internal self-control, social support, support from inanimate objects, prayer, and avoidance or escape either by controlling the inanimate environment or by controlling others.
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003624:Darkness; D003625:Data Collection; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007092:Imagination; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D002666:Psychology, Child; D012944:Social Support