Attachment and dream emotions: The mediating role of trait anxiety and depression

Abstract

Although associations of attachment insecurity and sleep quality have gained major interest in recent literature, little attention has been given to dream content in this regard. The aim of this study was twofold: 1) to examine whether a relationship exists between attachment and the emotional tone of dreams (positive vs. negative); and 2) to investigate the potential mediator role of trait anxiety and depression between attachment and dream emotions. The sample consisted of 1661 university students (68.5% male; M age : 20.48 years). Attachment characteristics were assessed by the Relationship Scales Questionnaire, dream emotions were measured by the Dream Quality Questionnaire, while trait anxiety and depression were assessed using the Depression and Anxiety facets of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory. The results indicated that attachment anxiety and attachment style (secure, preoccupied, dismissing, and fearful) were associated with both negative and positive emotions in dreams even when controlling for sociodemographics and that these relationships were mainly mediated by general anxiety and depression proneness. However, attachment avoidance was not related with either dream quality indicator and dream recall frequency was unrelated with categorical attachment style. Major limitations of the study include the low ratio of females in the sample and the use of retrospective assessment methods in the measurement of dream content and dream recall frequency. Nevertheless, the results could provide new perspectives on the role of attachment in dreaming and might suggest that the consideration of attachment could help us better understand not only attachment-but nightmare-, mood-and anxiety disorders as well.

Relationship between trait anxiety and emotions in dreams, evaluated in older adults.

“…Individuals experiencing waking-life stress are more likely to have emotionally charged dreams incorporating stressful experiences. Sándor et al (2020) found a positive link between anxiety and both negative and positive dream emotions. Some authors, such as Hartmann (2011) and Cartwright (2011), have attributed an emotional regulation function to dreams, and correlations exist between dream recall and limbic system activation (Lai et al, 2019).…”

Attachment representations and early maladaptive schemas in children’s and adolescents’ dreams: A pilot study.

“…Most studies on attachment and dreams have been conducted in adult samples and by using self-reported measures of attachment (e.g., Experience in Close Relationships [ECR]) in relation to general characteristics of dreams (e.g., nightmare frequency, dream emotional valence, distress in dreams). The general portrait shows that attachment insecurity in adult close relationships (e.g., romantic partner, family, significant others) relates to more negative emotions in dreams and greater nightmare frequency (Belfiore & Pietrowsky, 2017; McNamara et al, 2011; Selterman & Drigotas, 2009); whereas attachment security is associated with less distress and less negative emotions in dreams (Belfiore & Pietrowsky, 2017; Sándor et al, 2020). However, few studies have assessed dreams and attachment representations , conceptualized as the integrated models of the self and others that stem from early interactions with attachment figures (Bretherton, 2005; Bretherton & Munholland, 2016).…”

Attachment, childhood trauma, and dreaming.

“…Research has shown that insecurely or anxiously attached individuals exhibit more intense dream experiences in comparison with those more securely attached, such as a higher dream recall frequency (Contelmo et al, 2013; McNamara et al, 2001; Sándor et al, 2020), an average longer length of dream reports (McNamara et al, 2001), and a blurred boundary between dreamed and real-life events (Contelmo et al, 2013). On the other hand, people characterized by avoidant attachment style tend to suppress dream experiences, reporting for example, lower dream recall frequency, reduced lucidity and sensory experiences during dreaming, and less continuity between dreams and real-life issues (Contelmo et al, 2013).…”

“…In addition to the intensity of dream experiences, dream content also seems to mirror the mental representations of different attachment styles. Attachment anxiety varies positively with negative dream emotions but negatively with positive dream emotions (Sándor et al, 2020). Consistent with this, anxiously attached individuals suffer from more nightmares (Belfiore & Pietrowsky, 2017) and higher perceived nightmare distress (Reed & Rufino, 2019) and their dreams contain more aggressive and self-deprecating material (McNamara et al, 2011).…”