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Self-Structure Functioning and Nightmare Frequency: The Role of Nightmare Proneness
Author(s): William E. Kelly
Abstract: Nightmares are distressing dreams that occur across psychological conditions and may reflect underlying vulnerability in the regulation of internal experience rather than symptoms of specific psychiatric disorders. This study examined relationships among self-structure self-functions (regulation and integration of internal experience), nightmare proneness (a cognitive-affective processing style linked to nightmares), and nightmare frequency in 202 university students. Participants completed measures of self-functioning, nightmare proneness, nightmare frequency, trauma symptoms, and dream recall frequency. Regression and bootstrapped indirect association analyses were conducted while statistically controlling trauma symptoms, gender, and dream recall. Impairments in self-functions were strongly associated with nightmare proneness, and nightmare proneness was associated with greater nightmare frequency. Indirect analyses showed that self-functions were related to nightmare frequency primarily through nightmare proneness, whereas the direct association was not significant. These findings suggest that self-structure functioning influences nightmare frequency indirectly via patterns of cognitive-affective processing.
Keywords: Nightmares; Nightmare proneness; Nightmare frequency; Self-structure functioning; Self-functions; Cognitive-affective processing
Article: e011001
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