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Intense fear of the dark is a common issue among children, which can interfere with their daily functioning at family, social, and academic levels. This study aims to analyse the effectiveness of a psychotherapeutic intervention based on bibliotherapy combined with play to overcome the fear of the dark in children between 4 and 8 years old. A total of 38 children participated, who were assigned to the experimental and control conditions on the waiting list. The bibliotherapy intervention in the experimental condition involved reading a book and playing the games proposed in each chapter. The intervention was applied by parents at home with their children (during 4-5 weeks) and contained cognitive-behavioural techniques, such as gradual in vivo exposure, relaxation techniques, modelling and positive reinforcement, among others. It is expected that children's nighttime fears will decrease significantly and there will be significant improvements in nighttime behaviour.
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| Label | Type | Description | Intervention Names |
|---|---|---|---|
| Experimental group receiving bibliotherapeutic intervention | Experimental | Bibliotherapy combined with games to overcome fear of the dark |
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| Waiting list control group (receiving intervention at the end of treatment with experimental group) | No Intervention |
| Name | Type | Description | Arm Group Labels | Other Names |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bibliotherapy combined with games to overcome fear of the dark | Behavioral | Bibliotherapy combined with games, applied by parents at home. Treatment based on cognitive-behavioural techniques. Duration: 4-5 weeks. Experimental group recived this bibliotherapeutic intervention. |
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Nighttime fears | Parent Version of the Nighttime Fears Scale (NFS-P): The NFS-P assesses school-age children's level of fear at night, as reported by their parents. It contains four subscales: fear of nighttime features and distressing experiences (stimuli associated with darkness), fear of loss or separation from family (loss or non-presence of attachment figures and other family members), fear of imaginary stimuli (non-factual stimuli that may be likely to cause fear) and fear of real stimuli. It consists of 21 items that ask about night-time situations that are likely to cause fear in children. These items have a 5-point response scale, ranging from 0 (Not at all) to 4 (Very much). The higher the score, the greater the intensity of night-time fears. | Pre- and post-intervention assessment (treatment lasts 4-5 weeks). There will also be a follow-up assessment 12 months after the end of the intervention. |
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Nighttime functioning | On a daily basis, families completed a log on different behaviours of their children during the night. Variables included: number of minutes it takes to go to bed, number of minutes it takes to fall asleep, avoidance behaviours, need for company to fall asleep, presence of security light, number of night-time calls to parents' bed, number of night-time visits to parents' bed, whether they sleep in their bed all night and, finally, whether they made use of the book and/or games. |
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Inclusion Criteria:
Exclusion Criteria:
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| Facility | Status | City | State | ZIP | Country | Contacts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Universidad Miguel Hernández | Elche | Alicante | 03202 | Spain |
| PubMed Identifier | Type | Citation | Retractions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 42008152 | Derived | Orgiles M, Belzunegui-Pastor A, Amoros-Reche V, Espada JP. Efficacy of bibliotherapy combined with games to reduce fear of the dark in young children: results from a clinical trial. Eur J Pediatr. 2026 Apr 20;185(5):282. doi: 10.1007/s00431-026-06918-2. |
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Individual participant data (IPD) will not be shared due to the small sample size and the sensitive nature of children's psychological data, with the primary aim of ensuring confidentiality and anonymity.
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| ID | Term |
|---|---|
| C000719208 | Nyctophobia |
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| From enrollment to the end of treatment at 4-5 weeks |
| Nighttime functioning | Nighttime Behaviors Questionnaire for Children - Parent-reported (NBQC-P): The NBQC-P assesses, through parents' responses, children's usual behaviours before going to sleep and during the night. It consists of three subscales: need for company, problems during the night and problems going to sleep. It contains 13 items, with a Likert-type response scale from 0 (Never or almost never) to 4 (Always or almost always). A higher score on each dimension implies a greater need for company to sleep, greater resistance before going to bed and greater interference with night-time awakenings. | Pre- and post-intervention assessment (treatment lasts 4-5 weeks). There will also be a follow-up assessment 12 months after the end of the intervention. |
| Adaptive nocturnal behaviours | What I Can Do At Night - Parent Form (WICDAN-P): It assesses, through parents, children's ability to perform adaptive night-time behaviours during the last week. The scale consists of 11 items, with a 3-point response scale (0 = No; 1 = Yes, with difficulty or hesitation; 2 = Yes, with ease). The total score of the questionnaire is from 0 to 22. A higher score indicates adaptive night-time behaviour. | Pre- and post-intervention assessment (treatment lasts 4-5 weeks). There will also be a follow-up assessment 12 months after the end of the intervention. |