| Methods |
Randomised controlled trial |
| Participants |
169 female sexual abuse survivors reporting nightmares at least once a week in the USA |
| Interventions |
3 sessions (2 x 3‐hour 1 week apart and 1 x 1‐hour follow‐up 3 weeks later) of cognitive imagery rehearsal for nightmares (n = 87) vs waiting list (n = 82). |
| Outcomes |
Nightmare Frequency Questionnaire, PSS, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Nightmare Effects Survey |
| Notes |
It is unclear who delivered the intervention or whether or not treatment adherence was measured. |
| Risk of bias |
| Bias |
Authors' judgement |
Support for judgement |
| Random sequence generation (selection bias) |
Unclear risk |
Comment: The method of sequence generation was not reported. |
| Allocation concealment (selection bias) |
Unclear risk |
Comment: There is no mention of any measures taken to conceal allocation. |
| Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias)
All outcomes |
High risk |
Quote: "The main analysis was conducted on the 91 completers". The drop‐out rate was very high and reasons for leaving the study were not fully reported. |
| Selective reporting (reporting bias) |
High risk |
Comment: Completer data were reported despite a very high drop‐out rate. |
| Other bias |
High risk |
Comment: The issue of researcher allegiance cannot be ruled out. |
| Blinding of participants and personnel (performance bias)
All outcomes |
High risk |
Comment: Participants were aware of their allocation. |
| Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias)
All outcomes |
Unclear risk |
Comment: All measures were self‐reported but it is unclear how these were administered. |
