Nightmare distress mediated the correlation between autobiographical memory specificity and depression.
Jiaxi Wang, Haote Fu, Xiaoling Feng, Heyong Shen
PLoS One February 25, 2025 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0318661 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 112 |
| Population | Participants who provided their most recent dreams from within one month |
| Topics | Depression Dreaming |
| Keywords | Humans Dreams Adolescent Middle aged Female Young adult Memory, episodic |
| Key findings | Nightmare distress mediated the relationship between autobiographical memory specificity and depression. |
Abstract
In this study, we explored whether nightmare distress mediated the correlation between autobiographical memory specificity and depression. 112 participants provided their most recent dreams that happened within one month, and finished some scales that measured depression, autobiographical memory specificity, and nightmare distress. In line with our hypothesis, nightmare distress was the mediator that played a role in the relationship between autobiographical memory specificity and depression. In addition, we found that both nightmare distress and autobiographical memory specificity were correlated with the impact of a dream on one’s life story. By contrast, contrary to our hypothesis, we did not find any correlation between autobiographical memory specificity, or nightmare distress, and dream bizarreness. Potential implications from these results were discussed.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on dreaming, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lucid Dreaming: a State of Consciousness with Features of Both Waking and Non-Lucid Dreaming Student volunteers trained to become lucid and signal lucidity with horizontal eye... | 2009 | Observational study | n = 6 |
| Nightmare Prevalence, Nightmare Distress, and Self-Reported Psychological Disturbance Young adults with a mean age of 20 years | 2002 | Prospective observational study | n = 116 |
| Long-term effects of extreme situational stress on sleep and dreaming Survivors of traumatic events who complained of sleep disturbances, compared with... | 1987 | Case-control study | n = 11 |
| The relationship of nightmare frequency and nightmare distress to well‐being Adults who reported dreams | 2004 | Observational cohort | n = 147 |
| Dreaming in NREM Sleep: A High-Density EEG Study of Slow Waves and Spindles Healthy human subjects | 2018 | Observational cohort | n = 14 |
Citations in the library
Cites 9
- Metaphor and hyperassociativity: the imagination mechanisms behind emotion assimilation in sleep and dreaming Frontiers in Psychology August 18, 2015
- Nightmares in the general population: identifying potential causal factors Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology July 15, 2017
- Jungian personality typology and the recall of everyday and archetypal dreams. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1986
- Reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the Nightmare disorder index in adolescents. Stress and Health October 1, 2023
- Nightmares and psychiatric symptoms: A systematic review of longitudinal, experimental, and clinical trial studies. Clinical Psychology Review December 17, 2022
and 4 more in the library