BACKGROUND: Few studies have examined self-reported sleepwalking in older adolescents. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence rates of sleepwalking in a one-month self-report period in Australian adolescents.
METHODS: Participants were 532 Australian adolescents in their final two years of secondary school.
RESULTS: The prevalence of sleepwalking in the one-month self-report period was 2.9% (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.47-4.33) in this sample-1% reported sleepwalking at least once a week in the previous month. A significant proportion (17.5%) of the participants was unsure if they had sleepwalked.
CONCLUSION: The results provide data on the self-reported prevalence rate of sleepwalking in older adolescents. Compared with the population data, this rate falls within the confidence intervals of child and adult prevalence rates of sleepwalking and is consistent with a decline in sleepwalking from childhood and adulthood. Further research is needed to explore how adolescents know they sleepwalk to understand the reliability of self-report measures.