The Dreamland: Validation of a Structured Dream Diary.

The Dreamland Questionnaire (DL-Q), a new instrument for analyzing dream content, was validated against the established Hall and van de Castle Coding System (HVDC). Twenty-two participants provided written dream reports and completed the DL-Q, yielding 30 dreams for comparison. Correlations between the two measures were high for dominant characters, pleasantness of dream content, and body-related experiences. Some DL-Q items showed low correlations, and others could not be directly compared because the HVDC lacked equivalent items. The DL-Q demonstrates satisfactory validity and reliability for assessing dream criteria and may serve as a useful tool for clinical and research purposes, though further validation is needed for certain items.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Validated instruments for the analysis of dream contents are still scarce. Therefore, the aim of this study was to validate the Dreamland Questionnaire (DL-Q) by comparing its results to those of the Hall and van de Castle Coding System (HVDC). Twenty-two participants voluntarily filled in a written dream report as well as our DL-Q questionnaire, in total 30 dreams were collected with both measures. Written reports were analyzed with the HVDC and results of the two instruments were compared using Pearson correlations. Results showed that correlations were high for dominant characters, pleasantness of dream content, and body-related experiences. However, some DL-Q items showed low correlations and others could not be compared directly, as the HVDC did not include the same set of items. The DL-Q showed satisfactory validity and reliability as a measure of dream criteria and may serve as an effective tool for diagnosis and evaluation and facilitate future clinical and research studies. Nevertheless, some items could not be compared as part of this study and should be validated in future investigations.