Dissociated Effects of Age and Recent Troubling Experiences on Nightmares, Threats and Negative Emotions in Dreams.
Kheana Barbeau, Alexandre Lafrenière, Hanae Ben Massaoud, Emma Campbell, Joseph De Koninck
Frontiers in Psychiatry March 3, 2022 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.770380 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study using a dream questionnaire with independent judges' ratings Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 260 |
| Population | 260 participants evenly distributed across five developmental stages, matched for gender and exposure to a troubling experience, selected from a larger normative sample of Canadians |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Keywords | Dreams Emotions Nightmares Continuity hypothesis Threat simulation theory Dream formation Troubling experiences |
| Key findings | No interaction was found between troubling experiences and age in shaping dream characteristics. Individuals with a recent troubling event reported more nightmares and more emotionally negative dreams, and those with a moderately severe troubling event were more likely to have a dream of moderate maximal threat severity. Adolescents and young adults showed higher oneiric threat levels than adults over 40, and young adults reported more nightmares than older adults. |
Abstract
Several studies have highlighted associations between adverse life events and the dysphoric character of dream experiences. This degree of continuity between waking-life and dream content seems partly attributed to the emotional and personal attachment linked to the incorporated waking experiences. Numerous changes in the processing of emotion-related stimuli are also reported across different human developmental stages. Therefore, we were interested in testing whether age would modulate the impact of recent troubling experiences on dream characteristics. Two hundred sixty participants, evenly distributed in five developmental stages, matched for gender and their exposure to a troubling experience, were selected from a large sample collected for a previous normative study of dreams of Canadians. Participants completed a dream questionnaire from which independent judges subsequently scored the dreams. We observed no interactions between the experience of troubling events and age. However, individuals who experienced a recent troubling event reported a higher frequency of nightmares and their dreams were more emotionally negative. Participants who experienced a moderately severe troubling event were also more likely to experience a dream whose maximal threat severity was of moderate intensity. Adolescents and young adults had dreams with a higher level of oneiric threats compared to older adults (>40 years old). Young adults also reported a higher frequency of nightmares compared to older adults. Our findings have implications for modern dream theories. They also suggest that dysphoric dreams might serve as potential proxies of mental health status and developmental stages. Future studies are now needed to explore the implications of these findings for psychological adaptation.
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 3
- Negative dream affect is associated with next-day affect level, but not with affect reactivity or affect regulation Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience October 19, 2022
- The Dream Experience and Its Relationship with Morning Mood in Adolescents Hospitalized after a Suicide Attempt Brain Sciences August 10, 2024
- Association Between Dreams, Anxiety, and Depressive Symptoms Among Japanese Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Study Clocks & Sleep June 26, 2025
Cites 22
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- The threat simulation theory in light of recent empirical evidence: A review The American Journal of Psychology April 1, 2009
- Dream content and psychological well-being: A longitudinal study of the continuity hypothesis Journal of Clinical Psychology 2005
- Dreaming and the COVID-19 pandemic: A survey in a U.S. sample. Dreaming September 1, 2020
- My Dream, My Rules: Can Lucid Dreaming Treat Nightmares? Frontiers in Psychology 2019
and 17 more in the library