Nightmare Themes: An Online Study of Most Recent Nightmares and Childhood Nightmares.
Michael Schredl, Anja S. Göritz
Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine March 15, 2018 DOI: 10.5664/jcsm.7002 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1,216 |
| Population | Population-based sample |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Keywords | Gender differences Nightmare content Nightmare disorder Psychopathology |
| Key findings | Nightmare content is more diverse than current definitions allow, including themes like being chased, physical aggression, death/injury of close persons, and rare themes such as being the aggressor and suicide. |
Abstract
Even though the common diagnostic criteria (ICSD-3, DSM-5) acknowledge that nightmares do not only contain anxiety/fear (definition of the ICD-10) but also other emotions such as grief, disgust, and anger, the definition of a nightmare still focuses on threats to survival, security, or physical integrity. However, empirical studies on nightmare content in larger samples are scarce. The current study elicited 1,216 of the most recent nightmares including childhood nightmares of a population-based sample. The findings show that nightmares encompass a diversity of different topics, being chased, physical aggression, including death/injury of close persons. Infrequent themes like being the aggressor and suicide are of special interest as they might be related to waking-life psychopathology. The variety of nightmare topics clearly indicate that current definitions of nightmare content are too narrow. Future studies should look into nightmare content of persons in whom nightmare disorder has been diagnosed.
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 18
- My Dream, My Rules: Can Lucid Dreaming Treat Nightmares? Frontiers in Psychology 2019
- Cognitions in Sleep: Lucid Dreaming as an Intervention for Nightmares in Patients With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Frontiers in Psychology 2020
- High-Level Control in Lucid Dreams Imagination, Cognition and Personality March 8, 2020
- Sleep Paralysis and Lucid Dreaming-Between Waking and Dreaming: A Review about Two Extraordinary States. Journal of Clinical Medicine May 12, 2023
- The role of mindful acceptance and lucid dreaming in nightmare frequency and distress. Scientific Reports September 21, 2022
and 13 more in the library
Cites 11
- Lucid Dreaming Treatment for Nightmares: A Pilot Study Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics 2006
- Lucid Dreaming as a Treatment for Recurrent Nightmares Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics February 18, 2010
- Typical Dreams: Stability and Gender Differences The Journal of Psychology 2004
- Dream content analysis: Basic principles heiDOK (Heidelberg University) 2010
- Dream Recall, Nightmare Frequency, and Nocturnal Panic Attacks in Patients with Panic Disorder The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease August 1, 2001
and 6 more in the library