Dreaming or daydreaming during COVID-19 lockdown: A comparison between maladaptive and nonmaladaptive daydreamers.
Giorgia Margherita, Alessia Caffieri, R. Mariani, Maria Filosa, Tommaso Manari, Vittorio Lenzo, Maria C Quattropani, Elena Vegni, Lidia Borghi, Gianluca Castelnuovo, Emanuela Saita, M. F. Freda, Giorgia Varallo, Christian Franceschini, Alessandro Musetti
Psychology of Consciousness Theory Research and Practice July 25, 2022 DOI: 10.1037/cns0000333 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional survey with qualitative dream narrative analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 3,857 |
| Population | Italian adults during the COVID-19 lockdown, including 664 probable maladaptive daydreamers |
| Measures | Maladaptive Daydreaming Scale (MDS-16), Mannheim Dream Questionnaire (MADRE) |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Key findings | Probable maladaptive daydreamers reported more dream recall, emotional intensity, nightmares, nightmare distress, recurring daytime-related nightmares, lucid dreams, interest in dreams, problem-solving and creative dreams, and dreams affecting daytime mood than non-MDers, with no difference in emotional tone. Dream narratives shared similar themes except a cluster termed Dreaming the loss of others, where non-MDers were highly represented. The authors argue dream activity served as an affective regulator for both groups during lockdown. |
Abstract
Starting from the idea that dreaming could be considered an index of the psychological health of individuals regarding the COVID-19 outbreak, a major risk of psychological maladjustment has been registered for maladaptive daydreamers (MDers;i.e., people with a compulsive fantasy activity associated with distress and psychological impairment). Nevertheless, there is a gap in literature about dreaming in MDers in general and particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to investigate differences in dreaming and dream content between probable MDers and non-MDers during the COVID-19 lockdown in Italy. A total of 3,857 Italian adults (664 probable MDers), completed the Maladaptive Daydreaming Scale (MDS-16) and the Mannheim Dream Questionnaire (MADRE). Among them, 1,095 participants (222 probable MDers) decided to recount their dreams, subsequently analysed through a cluster analysis performed by T-LAB software. Significantly higher levels of dream recall, emotional intensity of dreams, nightmare frequency, nightmare distress, recurring nightmares about daytime, lucid dreams, interest toward dreams, problem solving and creative dreams, and dreams affecting daytime mood emerged in probable MDers compared to non-MDers. No differences were observed in the emotional tone of dreams. From the quali-quantitative analysis of dream narratives, similar themes emerged in probable MDers and non-MDers, except for a cluster named Dreaming the loss of others, where the non-MDers variable is highly represented. Our results highlight some significant differences between probable MDers and non-MDers with respect to dreaming activity. The massive use of dream activity as an affective regulator emerges for both probable MDers and non-MDers during lockdown. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on dreaming, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Other as a Nightmare: The Israeli-Arab Encounter as Reflected in Children's Dreams in Israel and the West Bank Jewish and Arab fifth to seventh graders living in various settings in Israel and the... | 1989 | Qualitative content analysis | n = 212 |
| Nonwaking Responses to Waking Stressors: Dreams and Nightmares1 Men from the cohort eligible for military duty during the Vietnam Conflict, varying in... | 1990 | Survey interview study | n = 442 |
| Communing with the Gods: The Dreaming Brain in Cross-cultural Perspective | 2011 | Phenomenological study | |
| Partial memory reinstatement while (lucid) dreaming to change the dream environment. Lucid dreamers | 2020 | Qualitative study | |
| Strange themes in pandemic dreams: Insomnia was associated with more negative, anxious and death‐related dreams during the COVID‐19 pandemic Global survey participants | 2022 | Longitudinal mixed-methods study | n = 2,240 |