Associations between frequent nightmares, nightmare distress and depressive symptoms in adolescent psychiatric patients.
Sleep Medicine March 1, 2023 Z. Wang, Kai Zhang, Long He et al.
Among Chinese adolescent patients with psychiatric disorders, nearly half (49.3%) experience frequent nightmares. Girls report more frequent nightmares and higher levels of both nightmare distress and depressive symptoms. Frequent nightmares and the distress they cause are linked to depressive symptoms, but nightmare distress fully mediates the relationship between frequent nightmares and depression. This suggests that interventions targeting nightmare distress, rather than nightmare frequency alone, may be more effective for reducing depressive symptoms in this population.