Self-Structure Functioning and Nightmare Frequency: The Role of Nightmare Proneness
Journal of International Scholarship 2026 DOI: 10.65030/jis.011001 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional survey Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 202 |
| Population | University students |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Keywords | Dream Distressing Recall Association psychology Skin conductance Clinical psychology Vulnerability computing Mental health |
| Key findings | Impairments in self-functions were strongly associated with nightmare proneness, and nightmare proneness was associated with greater nightmare frequency; self-functions related to nightmare frequency primarily through nightmare proneness. |
Abstract
Nightmares are distressing dreams that occur across psychological conditions and may reflect underlying vulnerability in the regulation of internal experience rather than symptoms of specific psychiatric disorders. This study examined relationships among self-structure self-functions (regulation and integration of internal experience), nightmare proneness (a cognitive-affective processing style linked to nightmares), and nightmare frequency in 202 university students. Participants completed measures of self-functioning, nightmare proneness, nightmare frequency, trauma symptoms, and dream recall frequency. Regression and bootstrapped indirect association analyses were conducted while statistically controlling trauma symptoms, gender, and dream recall. Impairments in self-functions were strongly associated with nightmare proneness, and nightmare proneness was associated with greater nightmare frequency. Indirect analyses showed that self-functions were related to nightmare frequency primarily through nightmare proneness, whereas the direct association was not significant. These findings suggest that self-structure functioning influences nightmare frequency indirectly via patterns of cognitive-affective processing.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on dreaming, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Insomnia Symptoms, Nightmares, and Suicidal Ideation in a College Student Sample Undergraduate students at a large, public university in the southeastern United States | 2011 | Observational cross-sectional survey | n = 583 |
| Prevalence and Correlates of Frequent Nightmares: A Community-Based 2-Phase Study Middle-aged Hong Kong Chinese adults from the community, mean age 40.9 years (SD 5.5,... | 2010 | Cross-sectional survey with subsequent clinical evaluation (two-phase design) | n = 8,558 |
| Factors of home dream recall: a structural equation model Adults (general population sample) | 2003 | Cross-sectional survey with structural equation modeling | n = 444 |
| The Phenomenology of Lucid Dreaming: An Online Survey Respondents to an online survey about lucid dreams | 2014 | Online survey | n = 684 |
| Frequency of Lucid Dreaming in a Representative German Sample Representative sample of German adults | 2011 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 919 |