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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)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
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 findings 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.

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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