Evaluation of dream content in combat-related PTSD.
Journal of Traumatic Stress October 1, 1999 K Esposito, A Benitez, L Barza et al.
Among Vietnam combat veterans diagnosed with PTSD, target dreams vary in how closely they replicate traumatic events and incorporate typical dream elements, but they are almost always threatening. A new PTSD dream rating instrument was developed to systematically assess dream content, incorporating dimensions from dream content analysis literature. In 18 veterans, about half of the target dreams contained features characteristic of combat, all but 17% were moderately to highly threatening, 53% were set at least partially in the present, and 79% contained distorted elements. The findings indicate that PTSD-related dreams are not uniformly replicative of trauma but consistently threatening.