Comparison of Dream Content of Depressed vs Nondepressed Dreamers
Deirdre Barrett, Michael Loeffler
Psychological Reports April 1, 1992 DOI: 10.2466/pr0.1992.70.2.403 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 41 |
| Population | College women classified as depressed or nondepressed by Beck Depression Inventory scores |
| Measures | Beck Depression Inventory |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Key findings | Depressed college women recalled fewer and shorter dreams, displayed less anger in dreams, and had fewer dream characters, especially strangers, than nondepressed college women. |
Abstract
Dreams of 20 college women classified as depressed by scores on the Beck Depression Inventory were compared with those of 21 nondepressed college women. The depressed group recalled fewer dreams, had significantly shorter dream length, and displayed less anger in their dreams. They also had fewer characters in their dreams and especially fewer strangers.
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 15
- ‘No Man is an Island’: Effects of social seclusion on social dream content and REM sleep British Journal of Psychology June 9, 2021
- Dreaming during a pandemic: Low incorporation of COVID-19-specific themes and lucidity in dreams of psychiatric patients and healthy controls. International journal of clinical and health psychology : IJCHP 2023
- The association between dream activity and alexithymia during pregnancy: A cross-sectional study in a sample of pregnant women. Journal of Sleep Research August 1, 2025
- Dreams and Nightmares in Early Pregnancy: A Comparative Study with a Control Group. Nature and Science of Sleep 2025
- An Ancient Disease in a Modern World Poligrafi December 20, 2023
and 10 more in the library