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Dreaming: Journal of the Association for the Study of Dreams

CONTENTS

Dreams and Visions in the Anglo-Saxon Conversion to Christianity
Patricia M. Davis
Page 75

Affective and Personality Characteristics in Function of Nightmare Prevalence, Nightmare Distress, and Interference Due to Nightmares
E. Miró and M. P. Martinez
Page 89

Individual Differences in the Range of Sensory Modalities Experienced in Dreams
Hitoshi Okada, Kazuo Matsuoka, and Takao Hatakeyama
Page 106

Emotions in the Diary and REM Dreams of Young and Late Adulthood Women and Their Relation to Life Satisfaction
Mélanie St-Onge, Monique Lortie-Lussier, Pierre Mercier, Jean Grenier, and Joseph De Koninck
Page 116

Predictors of Intention to Act and Implementation of Action in Dream Sessions: Therapist Skills, Level of Difficulty of Action Plan, and Client Involvement
Teresa L. Wonnell and Clara E. Hill
Page 129

Dreams and Visions in the Anglo-Saxon Conversion to Christianity
Patricia M. Davis
Dreaming: Journal of the Association for the Study of Dreams. Vol 15(2) 75-88, June 2005.

 Dreams and visions were reported to be powerful agents of change in the 7th-century conversion of Anglo-Saxon England to Christianity. They were presented as instrumental in the introduction and integration of this new religious/cultural paradigm. These dreams and visions combine Anglo-Saxon and Christian themes and metaphors. This article presents reports of dreams and visions extracted from historical sources and grouped into 8 categories: conception, vocation, dream songs/poems, temptations and consolation, otherworld journeys, prophecies of death and destruction, gloriosus obitus (saints at death), and saints' relics. These categories were created to reflect the human life cycle and to facilitate use by other dream researchers. The distinction between dreams and visions made by the hagiographers of the time is significantly different than the contemporary distinction between dreams and visions.

KEY WORDS: dreams; visions; religion; conversion; Anglo-Saxon England

Affective and Personality Characteristics in Function of Nightmare Prevalence, Nightmare Distress, and Interference Due to Nightmares
E. Miró and M. P. Martinez
Dreaming: Journal of the Association for the Study of Dreams. Vol 15(2) 89-105, June 2005.

 This study analyzes the relationships among nightmare frequency, nightmare distress, and interference due to nightmares, sleep quality, psychopathology (anxiety and depression), and personality (neuroticism, psychoticism, and boundaries). The nightmare parameters were evaluated with the Nightmare Frequency Questionnaire (B. Krakow et al., 2000); the Nightmare Distress Questionnaire (K. Belicki, 1992b), and the Nightmare Effects Survey (Krakow et al., 2000). The sample was composed of 147 healthy students. The results demonstrated that the 2 measurements of distress (subjective distress associated with nightmares and, especially, deterioration of psychosocial functioning) were the dimensions that best related to the variables studied, although the relationships were modulated by nightmare frequency. The parameter of nightmare frequency was found to be useful as an indicator of certain personality characteristics rather than psychological perturbation. Having nightmares on a weekly basis was strongly associated with depressed mood. The knowledge about these relations is relevant not only theoretically but also as a practical guide.

KEY WORDS: nightmare frequency; nightmare distress; nightmare effects; sleep quality; anxiety; depression; personality

Individual Differences in the Range of Sensory Modalities Experienced in Dreams
Hitoshi Okada, Kazuo Matsuoka, and Takao Hatakeyama
Dreaming: Journal of the Association for the Study of Dreams. Vol 15(2) 106-115, June 2005.

The present study investigated the relationship between the recalled frequency of sensory modalities experienced in dreams and waking imagery abilities. Five hundred thirty-one undergraduate students completed 4 imagery ability tests and a dream recall questionnaire containing a question on the frequency of experience of the sensory modalities in dreams. A k-means cluster analysis of the Dream Sense Modality Scale indicated that the participants fell into 3 groups: the major modalities group, whose dreams were entirely visual, auditory, and kinesthetic; the all modalities group, who experienced all sense modalities in dreams; and the no modalities group, whose dreams were without sensory content. The participants' scores on the imagery tests in the 3 groups showed significant intergroup differences. The all modalities group showed the highest levels of ability in evoking vivid imagery and controlling visual imagery and the most frequent use of visual imagery compared with the other two groups.

KEY WORDS: dream recall; sensory modalities, imagery abilities

Emotions in the Diary and REM Dreams of Young and Late Adulthood Women and Their Relation to Life Satisfaction
Mélanie St-Onge, Monique Lortie-Lussier, Pierre Mercier, Jean Grenier, and Joseph De Koninck
Dreaming: Journal of the Association for the Study of Dreams. Vol 15(2) 116-128, June 2005.

Expanding on studies of the incidence and valence of emotions in dreams and their relationship with waking life satisfaction, home and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep dreams were collected from 30 late adulthood and 28 young women who had filled out a life satisfaction scale. Four positive and 4 negative dream emotions were self-rated. Both groups reported more emotions, with greater intensity, in home dreams than in REM dreams, particularly the older group. Regardless of age, intensity of negative emotions was lower in laboratory dreams than in home dreams, but there was no difference for positive emotions. The older women's home dreams had fewer negative emotions, with lower intensity, than did the young women's. Life satisfaction did not differ between age groups and was not significantly related to dream emotions. These results reinforce the distinction between home and laboratory dreams and question the relation between dream emotions and life satisfaction.

KEY WORDS: dreams; emotions; life satisfaction; continuity hypothesis; age

Teresa L. Wonnell and Clara E. Hill

Dreaming: Journal of the Association for the Study of Dreams. Vol 15(2) 129-141, June 2005. The authors examined predictors of intention to act and implementation of action in the C. E. Hill (1996, 2004) 3-stage (exploration, insight, action) dream model. Thirty adult volunteer clients participated in two 90-min dream sessions. On average, clients said at the end of sessions that they intended to carry out their action plans and then actually did implement their action plans after the sessions. Intention to carry out the action plan was predicted by the client's perceptions of therapist action skills, client involvement, and the level of difficulty of the action plan. Implementation of action was predicted by the level of difficulty of the action plan and the client's intention to carry out the plan. Implications for the Hill dream model and for research are discussed.

KEY WORDS: dream work; action; intention to act; implementation of action; difficulty of action

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