The content of recurrent dreams in young adolescents.
Aline Gauchat, Jean R Séguin, Esther McSween-Cadieux, Antonio Zadra
Consciousness and Cognition December 1, 2015 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2015.08.009 (opens in new tab) via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractRecurrent dreams in young adolescents aged 11–15 years most often involve confrontations with monsters or animals, physical aggression, falling, and being chased. Analysis of 102 dream reports shows these dreams contain more negative than positive content. Only half include threatening elements, providing mixed support for the threat simulation theory of dreaming. Differences between adolescent and adult recurrent dreams are discussed, along with possible sex effects.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Cross-sectional survey Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 102 |
| Population | Young adolescents aged 11–15 years |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Keywords | Parasomnia Recurrent dreams Sex differences |
| Key finding | Recurrent dreams in young adolescents most frequently involve monsters or animals, physical aggression, falling, and being chased, with more negative than positive content, and only half contain threatening elements. |
Abstract
Studies on children's recurrent dreams have been largely anecdotal and based on adults' recollections of dreams experienced during childhood. We collected 102 reports of recurrent dreams from a sample of young adolescents aged between 11 and 15years and scored the narratives using a range of content measures, including in relation to the threat simulation theory (TST) of dreaming. The most frequently reported themes involved confrontations with monsters or animals, followed by physical aggressions, falling and being chased. Recurrent dreams were more likely to include negative content elements than positive elements. Only half of the recurrent dreams contained threatening elements and their analysis provided mixed support for the TST. Differences between the content of recurrent dreams reported by young adolescent versus adults are discussed as are possible sex effects and key issues that remain to be addressed by future research.