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ABSTRACT

Presentation preference: 20-minute oral presentation.

Title: Waking states and Recurrent Dream Activity in Stress Conditions.

Authors: Dr. John A. Davidson and Theresa A. Duke.

Institution: School of Psychology at the University of Tasmania - Hobart, Australia.

Authors Biographical Descriptions.
John Davidson is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychology at the University of Tasmania in Australia, where he has taught for 30 years. One of the courses he has taught in the undergraduate program since the early 1980s is the Psychology of Dreaming. He has also supervised sixteen Psychology Honours empirical studies in dream research.

Theresa Duke completed the Honours program in Psychology at the University of Tasmania in Australia, in November 2000.

Presentation Summary
Total and recurrent dream frequency and content in active, past and non-recurrent dream groups of students before and after mid-term examinations were investigated. Stress was found to be a critical factor in the onset and persistence of recurrent dreams, supporting various stress adaptation theories and previous recurrent dream research.

Learning Objectives.

A.) Learning Objectives.

1. Overview of recurrent dream research.
2. New evidence of the relationship between recurrent dreams and stressful life events.
3. How recurrent dreams may fit into stress adaptation models of dreaming.

B.) Evaluation Questions.

1. How are active recurrent dreamers identified and how do they differ from past and non- recurrent dreamers?
2. How has this study demonstrated the influence of stress in the increased frequency of recurrent dreams?
3. How may recurrent dreams be explained by existing stress adaptation models of dreaming?

Abstract
Recurrent dream frequency was investigated utilising naturalistic stress conditions to clarify the influence of stress on recurrent dream onset and persistence in this study. Recurrent dreams have been found to emerge during elevated stress and personal psychological difficulty in the dreamer's experience (Cartwright, 1979; Domhoff, 1993; 1996; Hartmann, 1996; 1998; Robbins & Houshi, 1983) and decrease or extinguish when psychological problems are alleviated by various forms of therapy (Abramovitch, 1995; Geer & Silverman, 1967; Wilmer, 1982). Recurrent dreamers have reported more life stress events and psychological difficulty in association with more dysphoric dream content compared to past and non - recurrent dreamers in recent experimental group research (Brown & Donderi, 1986; Zadra, O'Brien & Donderi, 1998). These findings supported theories that psychological conflict resulting from a lack of adaptation to stressful waking events underlie recurrent dream activity (Zadra, 1996) consistent with more general theories that dreams are functional in the adaptation to waking stress (Cartwright, 1979; Hartmann, 1998; Koulack, 1993; Stewart & Koulack, 1993).
Thirty nine university students in active, past and non - recurrent dream groups (n=13) recorded total and recurrent dream frequency and content in home dream journals, and completed self report measures of personal stress, anxiety and affect in the stress week prior to mid-term examinations and in a neutral study week in second semester.
Students reported significantly higher total dream recall, state anxiety and negative affect in the stress week than in the neutral study week. Pre-exam dreams involved significantly more happy and sad emotional dream content features than post-exam dreams. The active recurrent dream group reported significantly more recurrent dreams overall, and more recurrent dreams in the stress week than in the neutral study week in contrast to the past and non-recurrent dream groups, consistent with research hypotheses. These findings supported theories that the experience of stress is a critical factor in the onset and persistence of recurrent dreams. It is proposed that recurrent dreamers may experience perseverance in stress adaptation processes because dream experiences remain the same rather than undergoing progressive adaptation as exhibited by past and non recurrent dreamers experiencing similar stress. Increased total dream recall and increased emotional dream content during the psychological demands of examinations may be related to stress adaptation responses of all dreamers, whereas the increased frequency of recurrent dreams for recurrent dreamers may be an indication of less adaptation to emotional difficulties endured during that stress.

References
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Brown, R.J. & Donderi, D.C. (1986). Dream content and self reported well being among recurrent dreamers, past-recurrent dreamers and nonrecurrent dreamers. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 612-623.
Cartwright, R. (1979). The nature and function of repetitive dreams: A speculation. Psychiatry, 42, 131-137.
Domhoff, G.W. (1993). 'The repetition of dreams and dream elements: A possible clue to a function of dreams'. In A. Moffitt, M. Kramer & R. Hoffman (Eds.), The Functions of Dreaming. Albany: State University of New York Press.
Domhoff, G. W. (1996). Finding meaning in dreams: A quantitative approach. New York: Plenum Press.
Koulack, D. (1993). 'Dreams and adaptation to contemporary stress'. In A. Moffitt, M. Kramer & R. Hoffman (Eds.), The Functions of Dreaming. Albany: State University of New York Press.
Geer, J. H., & Silverman, I. (1967). Treatment of recurrent nightmare by behaviour- modification procedures. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 72, 188-190.
Hartmann, E. (1998). Nightmare after trauma as paradigm for all dreams: A new approach to the nature and functions of dreaming. Psychiatry, 61, 223-238.
Robbins, P. R. & Houshi, F. (1983). Some observations on recurrent dreams. Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic, 47, 262-265.
Stewart, D. W. & Koulack, D. (1993). The function of dreams in adaptation to stress over time. Dreaming: Journal of the Association for the Study of Dreams, 3, 259-268.
Wilmer, H. A. (1982). Vietnam and madness: Dreams of schizophrenic veterans. Journal American Academy of Psychoanalysis, 10, 47 - 65.
Zadra, A.L. (1996). 'Recurrent Dreams: Their Relation to Life Events'. In D. Barrett (Ed.) Trauma and dreams (pp.231-267). London: Harvard University Press.
Zadra, A. L., O'Brien, S. & Donderi, D.C. (1998). Dream content, dream recurrence and well-being: A replication with a younger sample. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 17, 293-311.