A possible biologic role of dreaming.
This study investigated the possibility that dreams are reactive to biologic function by evaluating them for a relationship to clinical outcome in patients with severe medical disease. Dream material was rated for references to death and separation. The clinical outcome for the 6 months following hospital discharge was scored on a 6-point scale as cured, improved, unchanged, worse without rehospitalization, worse with rehospitalization, and death. These cases were retrospectively evaluated and significant associations of death references (males) and separation references (females) with a poor clinical outcome were found. These data in men were consistent with Kardiner's formulation that severe and uncompensated stress to the ego, biological as well as psychological, is associated with dreams of death and dying. The data from both men and women support the hypothesis that dreams are reactive to biologic function.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001010:Anxiety, Separation / Q000523:psychology; D001293:Attitude to Death; D004194:Disease / Q000523:psychology*; D004325:Dreams; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012803:Sick Role