Dream Content, Dream Recurrence and Well-Being: A Replication with a Younger Sample
Antonio Zadra, Shannon A. O'Brien, D. C. Donderi
Imagination, Cognition and Personality June 1, 1998 DOI: 10.2190/llxl-d4db-9cp5-brgt (opens in new tab)
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractRecurrent dreamers aged 18 to 21 scored lower on psychological well-being and reported more negative dream content compared to past-recurrent and nonrecurrent dreamers. A single psychometric dimension, psychological well-being, distinguished recurrent dreamers from the other groups across all well-being and dream content measures. Dream archetypality was negatively correlated with neuroticism, matching two prior studies. The findings suggest that recurrent dreams occur during stressful periods, involve negative content, and are linked to reduced psychological well-being.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 52 |
| Population | Recurrent, past-recurrent, and nonrecurrent dreamers aged 18 to 21 |
| Duration | 14-day sample of remembered dreams |
| Key finding | Recurrent dreamers scored lower on psychological well-being and reported more negative dream content than past-recurrent and nonrecurrent dreamers. |
Abstract
A multivariate comparison was made among fifty-two recurrent, past-recurrent, and nonrecurrent dreamers aged eighteen to twenty-one. The participants completed measures of well-being and collected a fourteen-day sample of their own remembered dreams. Multivariate analysis showed that recurrent dreamers scored low on psychological well-being and reported more negative dream content. As was true in an earlier study, a single psychometric dimension, which we call psychological well-being, discriminated between the recurrent dream group and the other two groups over the entire set of well-being and dream content variables. As was true in two previous studies, dream archetypality was negatively correlated with a measure of neuroticism. We conclude that in both late teenagers and older adults, recurrent dreams occur in times of stress, are accompanied by negative dream content, and are associated with a deficit in psychological well-being.