The Relation of Fantasy Proneness, Psychological Absorption, and Imaginative Involvement to Nightmare Prevalence and Nightmare Distress
Imagination, Cognition and Personality October 1, 2001 DOI: 10.2190/c11q-vqaw-g3yh-kcqd (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 116 |
| Population | Individuals who completed questionnaires and kept a dreaming log |
| Duration | 21 consecutive nights |
| Measures | fantasy proneness, psychological absorption, daydreaming style, nightmare distress measure, dreaming and nightmare log |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Key findings | Nightmare prevalence and distress correlated with higher fantasy proneness, absorption, and guilty-dysphoric daydreaming, but not with positive or distractible daydreaming; effects were additive and independent of dream recall. |
Abstract
The present study prospectively investigated the relationship between nightmare prevalence, nightmare distress, and waking imaginative involvement. One hundred and sixteen individuals completed self-report indices of fantasy proneness, psychological absorption, and daydreaming as well as a sleep and dreaming questionnaire and a nightmare distress measure. Participants then kept a dreaming and nightmare log for 21 consecutive nights. As predicted, both nightmare prevalence and nightmare distress were associated with higher levels of fantasy proneness, psychological absorption, and a guilty-dysphoric daydreaming style but not with positively-toned daydreams or a highly distractible daydreaming style. Further, these results were not due to higher levels of overall dream recall. Last, these effects were additive as high scores on either fantasy proneness or absorption added significantly higher incremental validity to the prediction of nightmare prevalence and distress than just from the dysphoric daydreaming measure alone. The results are discussed within the context of emerging etiological theories of nightmare production.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on dreaming, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lucid Dreaming: a State of Consciousness with Features of Both Waking and Non-Lucid Dreaming Student volunteers trained to become lucid and signal lucidity with horizontal eye... | 2009 | Observational study | n = 6 |
| Nightmare Prevalence, Nightmare Distress, and Self-Reported Psychological Disturbance Young adults with a mean age of 20 years | 2002 | Prospective observational study | n = 116 |
| Long-term effects of extreme situational stress on sleep and dreaming Survivors of traumatic events who complained of sleep disturbances, compared with... | 1987 | Case-control study | n = 11 |
| The relationship of nightmare frequency and nightmare distress to well‐being Adults who reported dreams | 2004 | Observational cohort | n = 147 |
| The prevalence of nightmares and their independence from anxiety. Undergraduates | 1990 | Observational study using daily dream logs | n = 220 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 9
- The relationship of nightmare frequency and nightmare distress to well‐being Journal of Sleep Research May 26, 2004
- Phenomenal qualities of nightmare experience in a prospective study of college students. Dreaming June 1, 2002
- Reflective awareness in dreams following loss and trauma 2010
- A novel Differential Susceptibility framework for the study of nightmares: Evidence for trait sensory processing sensitivity. Clinical Psychology Review October 16, 2017
- Trait and neurobiological correlates of individual differences in dream recall and dream content. International review of neurobiology 2010
and 4 more in the library
Cites 12
- Nightmare Prevalence, Nightmare Distress, and Self-Reported Psychological Disturbance Sleep 2002
- The prevalence of nightmares and their independence from anxiety. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 1990
- Phenomenal qualities of nightmare experience in a prospective study of college students. Dreaming June 1, 2002
- Daydreams, Nightmares, and Insomnia: The Relation of Waking Fantasy to Sleep Disturbances Imagination, Cognition and Personality March 1, 1985
- Development of disturbing dreams during adolescence and their relation to anxiety symptoms. Sleep September 1, 2000
and 7 more in the library