The issue of a quantitative and qualitative impoverishment of dream mentation in alexithymic subjects has been shown and explained as a general difficulty of alexithymics in recalling their dreams [1]. On the other hand, this relationship disappears when the contribution of depression is considered (unpublished data). Hence, a multivariate design on a larger sample size has been carried out taking into account both alexithymia and depression as predictors of oneiric experience. A sample of 443 undergraduate students filled-in the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) and the CES-D (Center for Epidemiological Study Depression) scale. Then, 144 of them (mean age 23.13 ± 2.72; 22 M, 122 F) accepted to audio-record their dream reports for 14 consecutive days. The transcriptions of their dreams were considered with regard to their length and emotional content. Self-rates obtained by a dream diary were also considered to assess dream recall frequency, and their emotional valence, vividness and bizarreness. Results on dream diary measures indicated that the number of dreams and bizarreness were positively related to the CES-D scores, while vividness of dreams was negatively related to the TAS-20 scores. Analyses of dream report trascriptions indicated a coherent picture, with a positive relation between the depression scores and, respectively, the number and the lenght of dreams (as expressed by the Total Word Count), while a negative relation was found with emotional valence. The present results suggest that different subjective and objective features of sleep mentation are correlated to depression or alexithymia. Hence, these constructs, although highly inter-correlated, keep an independent capability to explain different sleep mentation features. On the other hand, the issue of a dreaming impoverishment in alexithymia needs to be reconsidered, since all the quantitative measures correlate only with the depression scores. Different quantitative and qualitative features of dreaming are related to depression or alexithymia.
Dream recall, alexithymia and depression / Curcio, G.; Enuncio, F.; Loparco, R.; Fratello, Fabiana; Ferrara, M.; DE GENNARO, Luigi. - In: JOURNAL OF SLEEP RESEARCH. - ISSN 0962-1105. - 13 (Suppl. 1):(2004), pp. 157-157. (Intervento presentato al convegno 17th ESRS Congress tenutosi a Praga).
Dream recall, alexithymia and depression.
FRATELLO, FABIANA;DE GENNARO, Luigi
2004
Abstract
The issue of a quantitative and qualitative impoverishment of dream mentation in alexithymic subjects has been shown and explained as a general difficulty of alexithymics in recalling their dreams [1]. On the other hand, this relationship disappears when the contribution of depression is considered (unpublished data). Hence, a multivariate design on a larger sample size has been carried out taking into account both alexithymia and depression as predictors of oneiric experience. A sample of 443 undergraduate students filled-in the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) and the CES-D (Center for Epidemiological Study Depression) scale. Then, 144 of them (mean age 23.13 ± 2.72; 22 M, 122 F) accepted to audio-record their dream reports for 14 consecutive days. The transcriptions of their dreams were considered with regard to their length and emotional content. Self-rates obtained by a dream diary were also considered to assess dream recall frequency, and their emotional valence, vividness and bizarreness. Results on dream diary measures indicated that the number of dreams and bizarreness were positively related to the CES-D scores, while vividness of dreams was negatively related to the TAS-20 scores. Analyses of dream report trascriptions indicated a coherent picture, with a positive relation between the depression scores and, respectively, the number and the lenght of dreams (as expressed by the Total Word Count), while a negative relation was found with emotional valence. The present results suggest that different subjective and objective features of sleep mentation are correlated to depression or alexithymia. Hence, these constructs, although highly inter-correlated, keep an independent capability to explain different sleep mentation features. On the other hand, the issue of a dreaming impoverishment in alexithymia needs to be reconsidered, since all the quantitative measures correlate only with the depression scores. Different quantitative and qualitative features of dreaming are related to depression or alexithymia.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
