Child dream development: a longitudinal observation
April 17, 2018 DOI: 10.4324/9780429472893-10 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Case study Longitudinal Case report |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1 |
| Population | One child, Lisa, studied at ages four years six months and five years six months |
| Duration | Two sessions one year apart |
| Key findings | A single child provided dream reports across two home-based observation sessions one year apart, yielding twelve requested dreams (five then seven) plus additional spontaneously reported dreams. The authors indicate that the mother's cooperation in both periods helped optimize collection of the child's dream reports and her comments on them. |
Abstract
The home-based study allowed the collection of dream reports from one child in two separate sessions at one year’s distance. Lisa (not her real name) was interviewed in the first session when she was four years and six months old, and later at five years and six months of age. Lisa was a good dream recaller. Apart from reporting, at the request of her mother, twelve dreams (five in the first dream week session and seven in the second), she spontaneously reported additional dreams on certain mornings. Lisa’s mother was co-operative during both observation periods. This allowed to us optimize the collection of the child’s dream reports and the mother’s comments about them.