Gender differences in dream recall: a meta‐analysis
Michael Schredl, Iris Reinhard
Journal of Sleep Research June 1, 2008 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2869.2008.00626.x (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Meta-analysis Longitudinal Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Healthy persons in five age groups |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Key findings | Gender differences in dream recall vary by age, with the smallest effect in children and the largest in adolescents. |
Abstract
SummaryMany studies have reported gender differences in dream recall. Data from 175 independent studies have been included in the analyses. Overall, estimated effect sizes in five age groups of healthy persons differed significantly from zero. Variables like measurement method and publication year did not affect the gender difference but age groups showed different effect sizes. The smallest effect size was found for children (0.097), the largest for adolescents (0.364), whereas the three adult groups ranged from 0.242 to 0.270. The findings suggest that the age‐dependent gender differences in dream recall might be explained by gender‐specific ‘dream socialization’. Longitudinal studies in this area, however, are still lacking.