The content of recurrent dreams in young adolescents

Gauchat, Aline; Séguin, Jean R.; McSween-Cadieux, Esther; Zadra, Antonio

doi:10.1016/j.concog.2015.08.009

Cited by 12 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…The themes identified in the current study reflect previously identified content in nightmares and bad dreams, including aggression, conflict, death, and unrealistic environments (Gauchat, Séguin, McSween‐Cadieux, & Zadra, ; Robert & Zadra, ). Although the majority of the content was negative, more positive content such as Attempts to Change Behavior and Successful Escape indicate that positive outcomes, however brief they may be, do occur.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 76%

Exploring Thematic Nightmare Content and Associated Self‐Harm Risk

Hochard

Ashcroft

Carroll

et al. 2017

Suicide & Life Threat Behav

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Nightmares have been shown to be robust predictors of self-harm risk, beyond depressive symptoms and hopelessness at times. However, few studies have investigated associations between nightmare content and increased self-harm risk. This study explored associations of thematic nightmare content with history of self-harm, and risk of self-harm phenomena the morning following a nightmare. A mixed-method diary study was performed. Prospective nightmare reports were obtained from 72 participants. A total of 47 nightmare reports met inclusion criteria and were analyzed for themes using inductive thematic analysis. Chi-square and bootstrap Pearson's correlation tests were performed to assess the associations between nightmare themes and self-harm history, and risk of self-harm phenomena following a nightmare. "Powerlessness to Change Behavior" was associated with a history of self-harm engagement, whereas "Financial Hardship" indicated reduced risk. Themes were not significantly associated with increased risk of self-harm phenomena following a nightmare. Content may be of use in detecting lifetime history of self-harm engagement, particularly in populations where disclosure is seen as taboo. However, nightmare symptom severity remains a better indicator of risk. Evidence for the utility of nightmare content in assessing immediate self-harm risk is presently lacking. Replication with increased power is recommended.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 76%

Exploring Thematic Nightmare Content and Associated Self‐Harm Risk

Hochard

Ashcroft

Carroll

et al. 2017

Suicide & Life Threat Behav

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In fact, emotions are the element that is most likely to influence PTSD dreams; up to 80% of dreams replay trauma-related emotions, irrespective of whether these replicate other trauma features ( 28 ). Idiopathic nightmares, while not replicating prior trauma per se , are similar in that they produce recurrent, dysphoric themes ( 29 ) that relate to waking stress and emotional concerns ( 30 ). In light of such parallels, distinctions between replicative and idiopathic nightmares need reevaluation.…”

Section: Explaining Idiopathic Nightmaresmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Stress Acceleration Hypothesis of Nightmares

Nielsen

2017

Front. Neurol.

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Adverse childhood experiences can deleteriously affect future physical and mental health, increasing risk for many illnesses, including psychiatric problems, sleep disorders, and, according to the present hypothesis, idiopathic nightmares. Much like post-traumatic nightmares, which are triggered by trauma and lead to recurrent emotional dreaming about the trauma, idiopathic nightmares are hypothesized to originate in early adverse experiences that lead in later life to the expression of early memories and emotions in dream content. Accordingly, the objectives of this paper are to (1) review existing literature on sleep, dreaming and nightmares in relation to early adverse experiences, drawing upon both empirical studies of dreaming and nightmares and books and chapters by recognized nightmare experts and (2) propose a new approach to explaining nightmares that is based upon the Stress Acceleration Hypothesis of mental illness. The latter stipulates that susceptibility to mental illness is increased by adversity occurring during a developmentally sensitive window for emotional maturation—the infantile amnesia period—that ends around age 3½. Early adversity accelerates the neural and behavioral maturation of emotional systems governing the expression, learning, and extinction of fear memories and may afford short-term adaptive value. But it also engenders long-term dysfunctional consequences including an increased risk for nightmares. Two mechanisms are proposed: (1) disruption of infantile amnesia allows normally forgotten early childhood memories to influence later emotions, cognitions and behavior, including the common expression of threats in nightmares; (2) alterations of normal emotion regulation processes of both waking and sleep lead to increased fear sensitivity and less effective fear extinction. These changes influence an affect network previously hypothesized to regulate fear extinction during REM sleep, disruption of which leads to nightmares. This network consists of a fear circuit that includes amygdala, hippocampus, and medial prefrontal cortex and whose substantial overlap with the stress acceleration findings allows the latter to be incorporated into a wider, more developmentally coherent framework.

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“…Studies investigating the emotional content of nightmares have found that fear was the predominant emotion reported by those who experienced nightmares, followed by extreme anger or sadness [23] Another study by Köthe and Piotrowsky [24] found that state anxiety was significantly elevated on following days after a nightmare compared with days following sleep on an undisturbed night. One study investigating the content of nightmares in adolescents contained mostly scary and threatening content, such as facing dangerous beasts or monsters, being physically attacked or being chased [25]. Thus, as shown in previous studies, nightmares are most likely to trigger the emotions of fear and anxiety.…”

Section: Nightmares and Negative Emotionsmentioning

confidence: 83%

The Mediating Effect of Anxiety in the Relationship between Nightmares and Night Eating Syndrome in Female Undergraduate Students

Lee

Suh

2018

Sleep Med Res

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Background and ObjectiveaaA nightmare is an unpleasant dream that awakes individuals and causes anxiety, fear and despair which lead to impulsive behaviors such as night eating. The purpose of this study is to investigate the mediating effects of depression and anxiety on the relationship between nightmare and night eating syndrome (NES). Both depression and anxiety are strongly relevant to a nightmare, which could increase night eating behaviors. MethodsaaParticipants of the study were 171 female undergraduate students (mean age 21.70 ± 1.76 years). All completed the following questionnaires: Disturbing Dream and Nightmare Severity Index, Night Eating Questionnaire, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and the Insomnia Severity Index. resultsaaResults showed there was a significant correlation among nightmare severity and night eating, depression, anxiety and insomnia (p < 0.05). After controlling for insomnia, anxiety continued to partially mediate the relationship between nightmare severity and NES (n = 171, B = 0.033, 95% CI = 0.001, 0.107). However, depression was not significant. ConclusionsaaIn conclusion, anxiety but not depression may be an important treatment target in treating females who have both nightmares and night eating. Sleep Med res 2018;9(2):104-109

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The content of recurrent dreams in young adolescents

Cited by 12 publications

References 19 publications

Exploring Thematic Nightmare Content and Associated Self‐Harm Risk

Exploring Thematic Nightmare Content and Associated Self‐Harm Risk

The Stress Acceleration Hypothesis of Nightmares

The Mediating Effect of Anxiety in the Relationship between Nightmares and Night Eating Syndrome in Female Undergraduate Students

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