Tuesday, January 28, 2003

Fear of the Dark A clinical review this week in the BMJ entitled “Fear of the dark in children:Is stationary night blindness the cause?” describes cases of fear of the dark that turned out to be a photoreceptor dysfunction in the retina that results in impaired night vision. The authors conclude that “night blindness in children can bring about profound fear of the dark. Recognition of the diagnosis and the simple expedient of giving the child control of lighting conditions can transform family life.” It dawned on me that there is very little scientific evidence concerning “fear of the dark.” It is a universal phenomena that children and parents survive in varying degrees and pediatricians often say that a child ‘will grow out of it,’ but has there been any formal scientific approach to studying this common childhood malady? Scotophobia or Fear of the dark or of night. ( also known as Nyctophobia or Achluophobia) is known to everyone. It is a common occurrence in children and it sometimes persists into adulthood. It may be exaggerated in sundown syndrome. There are a few studies that have been done. One of the more interesting from Yale points out in Darkness Facilitates The Acoustic Startle Reflex In Humans that “the increased startle in the dark was significantly correlated with the intensity of subjects' fear of the dark as children based on retrospective rating scales. It is hypothesized that the startle facilitation in the dark results from a change in affect rather than from a change in attention.” No serious empirical approaches to cataloging, or understanding fear of the dark in children have been done and likewise information about management is scarce. A couple of websites address the problem. One in Australia and one in the US.  Each describes contributing factors, management and offer practical management suggestions. 11:30:54 PM    comment []

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