Nightmare frequency, nightmare distress, and psychopathology in female victims of childhood maltreatment.
Mylène Duval, Pierre McDuff, Antonio Zadra
The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease September 1, 2013 DOI: 10.1097/nmd.0b013e3182a214a1 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 352 |
| Population | Female undergraduate volunteers |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Key findings | Nightmare distress explains frequency of disturbed dreaming beyond the effect of psychopathology and childhood trauma. |
Abstract
This study investigated the relationships between a history of childhood maltreatment, the frequency of disturbing dreams, their associated distress, and the presence of psychopathology in 352 female undergraduate volunteers. Participants completed questionnaires assessing dream recall, bad dream and nightmare frequency, nightmare distress, psychological well-being, and history of childhood trauma. Four groups were investigated based on the type and severity of childhood maltreatments experienced. Women reporting more severe forms of maltreatment reported higher frequencies of disturbing dreams, higher levels of nightmare distress, and greater psychopathology. Results showed that nightmare distress explains frequency of disturbed dreaming beyond the effect of psychopathology and childhood trauma. The results highlight the importance of assessing waking distress associated with disturbing dreams independently from their actual incidence.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on dreaming, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lucid Dreaming: a State of Consciousness with Features of Both Waking and Non-Lucid Dreaming Student volunteers trained to become lucid and signal lucidity with horizontal eye... | 2009 | Observational study | n = 6 |
| Nightmare Prevalence, Nightmare Distress, and Self-Reported Psychological Disturbance Young adults with a mean age of 20 years | 2002 | Prospective observational study | n = 116 |
| Long-term effects of extreme situational stress on sleep and dreaming Survivors of traumatic events who complained of sleep disturbances, compared with... | 1987 | Case-control study | n = 11 |
| The relationship of nightmare frequency and nightmare distress to well‐being Adults who reported dreams | 2004 | Observational cohort | n = 147 |
| Dreaming in NREM Sleep: A High-Density EEG Study of Slow Waves and Spindles Healthy human subjects | 2018 | Observational cohort | n = 14 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 14
- Aetiology and treatment of nightmare disorder: State of the art and future perspectives Journal of Sleep Research January 29, 2019
- Longitudinal associations of nightmare frequency and nightmare distress with suicidal behavior in adolescents: mediating role of depressive symptoms Sleep July 2, 2020
- Epigenetic Repair of Terrifying Lucid Dreams by Enhanced Brain Reward Functional Connectivity and Induction of Dopaminergic Homeostatic Signaling. Current Psychopharmacology February 15, 2021
- An analysis of laypeople’s beliefs regarding the origins of their worst nightmare Papyrus : Institutional Repository (Université de Montréal) 2015
- Longitudinal Study of Early Adversity and Disturbing Dream Frequency: Moderating Role of Early Negative Emotionality. Research on child and adolescent psychopathology February 2024
and 9 more in the library
Cites 6
- The relationship of nightmare frequency and nightmare distress to well‐being Journal of Sleep Research May 26, 2004
- Measuring nightmare and bad dream frequency: impact of retrospective and prospective instruments Journal of Sleep Research May 13, 2008
- Imagery rehearsal therapy for frequent nightmares in children. Behavioral Sleep Medicine 2009
- Variety and intensity of emotions in nightmares and bad dreams. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease April 1, 2006
- Clinical management of chronic nightmares: imagery rehearsal therapy. Behavioral Sleep Medicine 2006
and 1 more in the library