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Adverse Childhood Experiences Are Associated With Adult Dream Content: A Cross-Sectional Survey.

Yundong Ma, Xia Feng, Di Wang, Xiaoxia Zhao, Zejun Yan, Yanping Bao, Ran Zhu, Qiqing Sun, Jiahui Deng, Lin Lu, Hongqiang Sun

Frontiers in Psychology 2022 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.837347 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Cross-sectional survey Peer reviewed
Sample size 120
Population Adults aged 18–35 without current or past physical or mental disorders
Duration 10 consecutive days of dream recording
Topics Dreaming
Keywords Childhood adversities Emotional neglect
Key findings Childhood adversity is associated with characters, friendly interactions, and objects in adult dream content.

Abstract

Dreams can be affected by recent life events and long-term life experiences. Previous evidence has shown that childhood adverse experiences are associated with sleep quality and dream experiences. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between childhood adverse experiences and dream content in adults. A total of 163 participants without current or past physical or mental disorders aged between 18 and 35 were screened in the hospital. Among them, 120 subjects who completed a dream content record at home and whose anxiety and depression levels and sleep quality were within the normal range were included in the data analysis. A cross-sectional survey was conducted from June 2017 to December 2019. Dream content for 10 consecutive days was recorded by the participants and coded by the Hall and Van de Castle coding system. Childhood adversity was assessed by the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). In the end, 719 dreams out of 626 nights for 120 participants (44 female) were included in the data analysis, gender differences between groups were analyzed using t-tests or U tests, and Spearman's partial correlation and multiple linear regression were used to investigate the relationship between childhood trauma and dream content. Childhood adversity was associated with characters, friendly interactions, and objects in dream content. Regression models of childhood adversity predicting characters and objects in dream content were constructed. There were no gender differences in general demographic data, sleep quality, emotional state, childhood adversity, dream recall frequency, or dream content. Childhood adversity is associated with adult dream content.

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

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