title: The content of recurrent dreams in young adolescents.
abstract: Studies on children's recurrent dreams have been largely anecdotal and based on adults' recollections of dreams experienced during childhood. We collected 102 reports of recurrent dreams from a sample of young adolescents aged between 11 and 15years and scored the narratives using a range of content measures, including in relation to the threat simulation theory (TST) of dreaming. The most frequently reported themes involved confrontations with monsters or animals, followed by physical aggressions, falling and being chased. Recurrent dreams were more likely to include negative content elements than positive elements. Only half of the recurrent dreams contained threatening elements and their analysis provided mixed support for the TST. Differences between the content of recurrent dreams reported by young adolescent versus adults are discussed as are possible sex effects and key issues that remain to be addressed by future research.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128, succ. Centre-ville, Montréal, Québec H3C 3J7, Canada.
authors.forename: Aline
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gauchat
authors.affiliation: Ste-Justine Hospital Research Center, 317 chemin Côte Ste-Catherine, Montréal, Québec H3T 1C5, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128, succ. Centre-ville, Montréal, Québec H3C 3J7, Canada.
authors.forename: Jean R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Séguin
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128, succ. Centre-ville, Montréal, Québec H3C 3J7, Canada.
authors.forename: Esther
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: McSween-Cadieux
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128, succ. Centre-ville, Montréal, Québec H3C 3J7, Canada. Electronic address: antonio.zadra@umontreal.ca.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zadra
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D041923:Adolescent Development; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D004325:Dreams / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D063545:Personal Narratives as Topic; D012737:Sex Factors
keywords: Dream content; Dream recall; Parasomnia; Recurrent dreams; Sex differences