Sleep Paralysis Among Egyptian College Students: Association With Anxiety Symptoms (PTSD, Trait Anxiety, Pathological Worry).
The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease November 1, 2015 DOI: 10.1097/nmd.0000000000000382 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional survey Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 100 |
| Population | Egyptian college students in Cairo |
| Topics | Anxiety PTSD |
| Key findings | Sleep paralysis was associated with higher PTSD, trait anxiety, and pathological worry, and hallucinations during SP were correlated with PTSD and trait anxiety. |
Abstract
Among Egyptian college students in Cairo (n = 100), this study examined the relationship between sleep paralysis (SP) and anxiety symptoms, viz., posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), trait anxiety, and pathological worry. SP rates were high; 43% of participants reported at least one lifetime episode of SP, and 24% of those who reported at least one lifetime episode had experienced four or more episodes during the previous year. Fourteen percent of men had experienced SP as compared to 86% of women. As hypothesized, relative to non-SP experiencers, participants who had SP reported higher symptoms of PTSD, trait anxiety, and pathological worry. Also, as hypothesized, the experiencing of hypnogogic/hypnopompic hallucinations during SP, even after controlling for negative affect, was highly correlated with symptoms of PTSD and trait anxiety. The study also investigated possible mechanisms by examining the relationship of hallucinations to anxiety variables.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on PTSD, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assessing the quality of publicly available videos on MDMA‐assisted psychotherapy for PTSD Videos on YouTube about MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD | 2022 | Cross-sectional study | n = 100 |
| Perceptions of psychedelic-assisted therapy among Black Americans. Black and White American adults | 2023 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 294 |
| Coping motives mediate the relationship between PTSD and MDMA use in adolescents with substance use disorders German adolescent SUD patients aged 13–18 years at an outpatient clinic | 2022 | Cross-sectional study | n = 111 |
| Risk factors of sleep paralysis in a population of Polish students. Polish university students under 35 | 2022 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 2,553 |
| Expert opinions on implementation of MDMA-assisted therapy in Europe: critical appraisal towards training, clinical practice, and regulation. Researchers and clinicians involved in MDMA-AT clinical trials and contributors to the... | 2024 | Survey | n = 68 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 22
- The neuropharmacology of sleep paralysis hallucinations: serotonin 2A activation and a novel therapeutic drug Psychopharmacology October 4, 2018
- Sleep Paralysis, “The Ghostly Bedroom Intruder” and Out-of-Body Experiences: The Role of Mirror Neurons Frontiers in Human Neuroscience February 27, 2017
- Risk factors of sleep paralysis in a population of Polish students. BMC Psychiatry June 7, 2022
- Prevalence and Clinical Characteristics of Sleeping Paralysis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Cureus 2024
- Association between sleep paralysis and anxiety: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine September 10, 2026
and 17 more in the library
Cites 18
- Sleep paralysis and "the bedroom intruder": the role of the right superior parietal, phantom pain and body image projection. Medical Hypotheses December 1, 2014
- Explanations of sleep paralysis among Egyptian college students and the general population in Egypt and Denmark. Transcultural Psychiatry April 2014
- Rates and characteristics of sleep paralysis in the general population of Denmark and Egypt. Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry September 2013
- Loving‐Kindness in the Treatment of Traumatized Refugees and Minority Groups: A Typology of Mindfulness and the Nodal Network Model of Affect and Affect Regulation Journal of Clinical Psychology August 1, 2013
- Lifetime Prevalence Rates of Sleep Paralysis: A Systematic Review Sleep Medicine Reviews May 14, 2011
and 13 more in the library