Dream recall and dream content in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
Michael Schredl, Heiko Sartorius
Child Psychiatry and Human Development April 1, 2010 DOI: 10.1007/s10578-009-0163-8 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional survey Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 203 |
| Population | Children with ADHD and controls |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Key findings | Children with ADHD have more negatively toned dreams with more misfortunes/threats, negative endings, and physical aggression toward the dreamer, but dream recall frequency and general dream characteristics do not differ from controls. |
Abstract
Although sleep is widely investigated in children with ADHD, dream studies in this group are completely lacking. The continuity hypothesis of dreaming stating that waking life is reflected in dreams would predict that waking-life symptoms are reflected in the dreams of such children. 103 children with ADHD and 100 controls completed a dream questionnaire eliciting dream recall frequency and the most recent dream. The dreams of the children with ADHD did not show a heightened occurrence of activities but were more negatively toned and included more misfortunes/threats, negative endings, and physical aggression towards the dreamer. Dream recall frequency and general dream characteristics like dream length and dream bizarreness did not differ from children without ADHD. The dreams seem to reflect the inner world of the child with ADHD. From a clinical point of view, it would be very interesting to study whether the negatively toned dreams change during treatment (pharmacological and/or psychotherapeutic) in a way similar to how sleep quality improves.
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 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 6
- The Dream Effect of Waking Thought, Experience, and Illness: A Research Proposal International Journal of Current Science Research and Review March 3, 2021
- Nightmare frequency in adults with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience February 1, 2017
- Emotion regulation as reflected in children’s dreams – a developmental test of the neurocognitive dream theory Mentálhigiéné és Pszichoszomatika June 1, 2016
- The Construction, Preliminary Validation, and Correlates of a Dream‐Specific Scale for Mystical Experience March 1, 2015
- Dream Recall Frequency and Unusual Dream Experiences in Early Adolescence: Longitudinal Links to Behavior Problems Journal of Research on Adolescence December 1, 2013
and 1 more in the library
Cites 9
- Factors of home dream recall: a structural equation model Journal of Sleep Research May 12, 2003
- Laboratory references in dreams: Methodological problem and/or evidence for the continuity hypothesis of dreaming? heiDOK (Heidelberg University) 2008
- Relation Between Waking Sport Activities, Reading, and Dream Content in Sport Students and Psychology Students The Journal of Psychology May 1, 2008
- Dreams in patients with sleep disorders. Sleep Medicine Reviews June 1, 2009
- Imagery rehearsal therapy for frequent nightmares in children. Behavioral Sleep Medicine 2009
and 4 more in the library