Psychology Research Digest
Dreaming - Vol 36, Iss 1
Dreaming is a multidisciplinary journal, the only professional journal devoted specifically to dreaming. The journal publishes scholarly articles related to dreaming from any discipline and viewpoint. This includes biological aspects of dreaming and sleep/dream laboratory research; psychological articles of any kind related to dreaming; clinical work on dreams regardless of theoretical perspective (Freudian, Jungian, existential, eclectic, etc.); anthropological, sociological, and philosophical articles related to dreaming; and articles about dreaming from any of the arts and humanities.
Dreaming of death: An exploration of the relationship between death anxiety and nightmare severity in Australian adults.
Throughout history and across cultures, humans have been interested in the relationship between dreams, nightmares and death. Research examining this relationship is scarce, and findings have been mixed. This study aimed to (a) quantify the potential prevalence of nightmare severity and death anxiety, explore associations and differences between sexes and age groups, and (b) examine typical dreams and their relationship to death-related themes. A total of n = 432 participants (n = 128 males and n = 304 females) completed a cross-sectional study using the Death Anxiety Beliefs and Behavior Scale (DABBS), Disturbing Dream and Nightmare Severity Index (DDNSI), and the Typical Dreams Questionnaire (TDQ). This study found that 10% had a self-reported sleep disorder, and 47% reported a mental health diagnosis. We found that 15% had clinical scores for DABBS, which was significantly higher in females, and in those with a mental health diagnosis (p < .001 for all), DDNSI was at 26% for the group. Linear regression identified a significant relationship between DDNSI and DABBS score. Greater levels of death anxiety were significantly associated with (p = .003) increased DDNSI scores (β = .08, adjusted R² = .019). When analyzing the TDQ, those who had death-related dreams had significantly higher death anxiety and disturbing dreams and nightmares. This study highlights the opportunities in clinical practice to support those with death anxiety, mental health, and nightmares and how they impact sleep health. This can be done through in-person or online cognitive behavioral therapy-based programs that may be beneficial in treatment before seeking pharmacological or specialized treatments. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)
Publication date: Mon, 30 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMT Access the article >>Dream patterns of general population of Delhi: A cross-sectional study.
Dreams are a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that occur during certain stages of sleep. The content of dreams, influenced by waking activities, reflects aspects of reality and personality traits. This study aims to ascertain the self-reported dream patterns across various demographic variables of the general population residing in Delhi, India. A cross-sectional study was conducted in the rural and urban field practice areas of the Department of Community Medicine, Maulana Azad Medical College, Delhi. A total of 240 subjects aged 15 years and above, equally distributed between rural and urban areas, were enrolled using the probability-proportional-to-size method. Data were collected using a self-designed semistructured questionnaire and the Dream Content Questionnaire. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software. Among the 240 study participants, 50.4% recalled that they experienced dreams in the past 2 weeks. Dream experiences were significantly associated with gender, age, occupation, marital status, and place of residence. Females and younger age groups reported higher dream frequency. Predominant dream interactions varied, with aggressive dreams more common among males and sexual dreams more frequent among females. Urban residents reported more dreams compared to their rural counterparts. This study provides insights into the dream patterns of Delhi's general population, highlighting significant associations with demographic variables. The findings underscore the influence of gender, age, occupation, marital status, and place of residence on reporting dream recall and content. Further longitudinal and cross-cultural studies are needed to explore the complex interplay of factors influencing dreaming. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)
Publication date: Thu, 29 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT Access the article >>The “demonic” in dreams and nightmares.
Demonic attacks in nightmares index more severe nightmares. We collected measures of sleep and dream reports (including nightmares) from 124 volunteers, with 61 wearing the Dreem 3 headband, across a 2-week period. We subjected dream reports to qualitative thematic analyses and identified 16 dream reports with overt demonic content. Five of these were associated with a series of dream reports leading up to a narrative report of demonic attack in a nightmare. The other 11 dream reports were single night dream reports that also depicted demonic content. These analyses revealed that (a) demonic content appears at the beginning and end of the dream series, (b) the background dream environment is eerily threatening and has a supernatural feel to it, (c) the dreamer is depicted as powerless with a fragile identity which often undergoes transformations into other characters, (d) the demon acts as if it is interested in harming/destroying the individual or the individual’s identity, and (e) there is a progression of thematic content across the series such that the elements of the demonic content randomly reappears across the series and is depicted as moving progressively closer to and becoming more threatening to the dreamer until the nightmare occurs. Finally, dreamers often attempted but usually failed to oppose the actions of the demonic characters. We conclude with a discussion of distress associated with, and theoretical accounts of demonic nightmares. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)
Publication date: Mon, 09 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMT Access the article >>Blaming Jerome: Did his translation of the bible lead to the rejection of dream interpretation in Western Christianity?
This article examines the long-standing criticism of St. Jerome’s translation of the Hebrew Bible, particularly the alleged mistranslation of a term related to witchcraft or magic. In recent decades, several scholars—most notably M. T. Kelsey—have argued that Jerome’s translation contributed to a negative Christian view of dreams and fueled enduring skepticism toward dream interpretation within the Christian tradition. The article challenges the dominance of this argument in modern dream research. Through a technical analysis of the relevant translation choices, it demonstrates that the blame placed on Jerome rests on a weak foundation. Moreover, Jerome’s own experiences with dreams and his independence from ecclesiastical authority suggest a more nuanced perspective than critics have acknowledged. By means of historical examples, the article further shows that Christian engagement with dreams persisted long after Jerome’s time. It argues that, contrary to Kelsey’s claims, dreams continued to play a significant role in Christian thought and practice. This reevaluation offers secular dream researchers a richer understanding of the enduring importance of dreams in Christian traditions. Despite periods of theological and philosophical skepticism—such as those preached by Luther and Kant—the article concludes that dreams have remained a source of insight, inspiration, and spiritual reflection across cultures and centuries. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)
Publication date: Thu, 30 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT Access the article >>Freud’s contributions and impediments to dream science: Response to Erdelyi (2024).
Erdelyi (2024) recently selected a dozen of Freud’s seminal ideas that have continuing relevance for contemporary dream science. While several can be endorsed as lasting contributions, this reply explains why most of these concepts are actual impediments to the advancement of dream science. Freud’s positive contributions include his proof that dreams have important psychological meaning; dreams can have multiple meaning; dream content is connected to waking life events (as posited by Continuity Theory); free association promotes a nonjudgemental attitude toward dreams; and identification of “universal” processes in dreams. Contrarily, Freud’s foundational theory of dream disguise—with its corollary ideas of distinguishing manifest versus latent content; “universal symbols” like phallic-shaped objects; “universal distortions” like condensation and displacement; “hypermnesic” recall of infantile trauma/experience memories (as the presumed causal source of all dreams); and restricting interpretative authority to experts—are impediments to studying dreams in their actual “undisguised” nature. As explained, dreams may appear mysterious and baffling, but not because some unconscious agency is actively manipulating dream images to disguise their sexual, aggressive, and antisocial purpose and meaning. Instead, dreams are intrinsically honest, highly individualized, and idiosyncratic expressions, with high continuity with recent waking life, whose personalized meaning can be self-discerned by the individual dreamer (especially with noninterpretive, person-centered facilitative assistance from a professional). Instead of rejecting the directly given dream content as a deceptive “manifest” disguise, the direct and immediate imagery is fully significant in its original presentation and embodies a depth of personalized meaning in continuity with waking life experience. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)
Publication date: Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT Access the article >>