Extending the Rorschach Trauma Content Index and Aggression Indexes to Dream Narratives of Children Exposed to Enduring Violence: An Exploratory Study
Jan Henk Kamphuis, Nynke Tuin, Marieke Timmermans, Raija-Leena Punamäki
Journal of personality assessment October 16, 2008 DOI: 10.1080/00223890802388558 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational comparative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 319 |
| Population | Children and adolescents living under conditions of enduring interpersonal violence versus those living in peaceful surroundings |
| Measures | Trauma Content Index, aggressive objects in dreams (AgC), Animal (A), Clothing (Cg), Cooperative movement (COP), psychological symptom scales |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Citations | 20 |
| Key findings | Children and adolescents exposed to enduring interpersonal violence showed a higher proportion of dream content scorable on the Trauma Content Index and a much higher proportion of aggressive objects in their dreams than peers in peaceful surroundings. No consistent group differences emerged for Animal, Clothing, or Cooperative movement content. The authors suggest dream content analysis may be a valuable adjunct for assessing the psychological state of violence-traumatized children. |
Abstract
In this study, we compared dream narratives of children and adolescents living under conditions of enduring interpersonal violence (n = 220) versus those living in peaceful surroundings (n = 99) on content variables that have been associated with traumatic experiences in Rorschach (Exner, 1995 Exner, J. E. Jr. 1995. A Rorschach workbook for the comprehensive system, , 4th ed., Ashville, NC: Rorschach Workshops. [Google Scholar]) imagery. As predicted, children and adolescents living in circumstances of enduring violence reported a higher proportion of content scorable by Armstrong and Loewenstein's (1990) Armstrong, J. G. and Loewenstein, R. J. 1990. Characteristics of patients with multiple personality and dissociative disorders on psychological testing. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 178: 448–454. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] Trauma Content Index and a much higher proportion of aggressive objects in their dreams (AgC; Gacono & Meloy, 1994 Gacono, C. B. and Meloy, J. R. 1994. The Rorschach assessment of aggressive and psychopathic personalities, Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. [Google Scholar]). In support of discriminant validity, no consistent group differences were observed for the relative frequencies of Animal (A), Clothing (Cg), or Cooperative movement (COP) content. The modest association between manifest dream content and psychological symptom scales suggests that the former may alternatively reflect adaptive or psychopathological processes. Our findings suggest that content analysis of dreams may be a valuable adjunct in tapping the psychological state of children traumatized by violence.