Nightmares and the Big Five personality traits: A systematic review and three-level meta-analysis.
Aurore Roland, Zosia Goossens
Dreaming February 18, 2025 DOI: 10.1037/drm0000301 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Systematic review with meta-analysis Cross-sectional Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Adult populations from studies measuring Big Five personality traits and nightmare frequency or distress |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Citations | 3 |
| Key findings | Neuroticism shows a small to moderate positive association with nightmare frequency (Fisher's z = 0.30), while openness shows a negligible to small association (Fisher's z = 0.06). The authors conclude that neuroticism is a greater predisposing factor for nightmare frequency than openness. |
Abstract
Objective/Background Our objective was to conduct a systematic review with meta-analysis to enhance our comprehension of the Big Five personality traits that are associated with nightmare frequency and distress and might thus serve as risk factors for frequent and distressing nightmares.Methods The inclusion criteria for studies were the use of a validated questionnaire to measure the Big Five personality traits and the measurement of nightmare distress and/or frequency in an adult population.Relevant studies were searched on PubMed, Embase, Scopus and Web of Science.Risk of bias was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Critical Appraisal Tool for analytical cross-sectional studies.Three-level meta-analyses were performed.Results Ten studies, all with a low risk of bias, were included.Due to the lack of studies on this topic, we were only able to conduct meta-analyses on nightmare frequency with openness and neuroticism.The pooled Fisher's z between nightmare frequency and openness was z = 0.06 (95% CI: [0.02 -0.10], p < .01).The pooled Fisher's z between nightmare frequency and neuroticism was z = 0.30 (95% CI: [0.23 -0.38], p < .001).Conclusions The association between nightmare frequency and neuroticism is small to moderate, while the association between nightmare frequency and openness is negligible to small.Our results imply that neuroticism is a greater predisposing factor for nightmare frequency than openness.
Comparable studies
Other systematic reviews and meta-analyses on dreaming, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dreaming as mind wandering: evidence from functional neuroimaging and first-person content reports. | 2013 | Systematic review with meta-analytic comparison | |
| Lucid dreaming incidence: A quality effects meta-analysis of 50 years of research | 2016 | Meta-analysis | |
| The effectiveness of lucid dreaming therapy in patients with nightmares: A systematic review. Adults with chronic and recurring nightmares | 2023 | Systematic review | |
| The relationships between insomnia, nightmares, and dreams: A systematic review Individuals without a concomitant psychopathology, including those with insomnia or... | 2024 | Systematic review | |
| Psychosocial treatments for nightmares in adults and children: a systematic review | 2023 | Systematic review |