A scale called the Nightmare Experience Scale (NExS) can accurately identify people who may have clinically salient nightmares, even in a nonclinical sample. In a study of 480 undergraduates, the NExS showed strong ability to distinguish those with possible clinically salient nightmares from controls, with an area under the curve of .941. A cut score of 9 or higher was found to be suitable for detecting potential cases. The findings suggest the NExS is a useful screening tool, but further research with clinical interviews is needed to confirm its value in clinical settings.
Nightmares may reflect failures in emotional and self-regulation. Among 269 university students, weaker ego defensive functioning and low sensory thresholds predicted more nightmares, while higher drive regulation and cognitive control of autonomous functions also increased vulnerability. Ego functioning explained additional variance in nightmare frequency beyond gender and neuroticism. The findings suggest nightmares arise when the ego's balance between affective containment and expression is disrupted, reflecting both fragility and overcontrol.