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Association of Posttraumatic Nightmares and Psychopathology in a Military Sample

T. de Dassel, Lutz Wittmann, Sonja Protic, Helge Höllmer, Robert Gorzka

Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy October 9, 2017 DOI: 10.1037/tra0000319 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Observational study Peer reviewed
Sample size 62
Population German soldiers admitted to a hospital-based treatment program for veterans, mean age 33.8 years, 17.7% female
Topics Dreaming
Key findings Nightmare distress, frequency, and replicativeness were all associated with PTSD symptomatology, but only replicativeness significantly predicted a PTSD diagnosis, and none of the nightmare characteristics predicted a depression diagnosis. The authors argue that replicativeness is a key variable for understanding the relationship between posttraumatic nightmares and PTSD, whereas frequency and distress may be generic markers of mental health.

Abstract

Objective: Nightmares are among the most frequent and disturbing symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, basic research questions regarding key associations between certain nightmare characteristics, especially replicativeness, and posttraumatic psychopathology need further empirical elaboration.

Method: Sixty-two German soldiers (mean age 33.8 years, 17.7% females) admitted to a hospital-based treatment program for veterans completed extensive assessments consisting of clinical interviews and self-rating measures with respect to sociodemographic characteristics and psychopathology as well as dream-related variables.

Results: Although nightmare distress, frequency, and replicativeness were all linked to PTSD symptomatology, only the latter proved to be a significant predictor of PTSD diagnosis. Moreover, none of these nightmare characteristics predicted a depression diagnosis.

Conclusions: The replicativeness of nightmares appears to be a key variable for understanding the relationship between posttraumatic nightmares and PTSD, whereas nightmare frequency and distress appear to be more aptly defined as generic markers of mental health.

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
Dreaming in NREM Sleep: A High-Density EEG Study of Slow Waves and Spindles Healthy human subjects 2018 Observational cohort n = 14

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