1

A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON NIGHTMARE

DISTRESS IN CHILDREN AND ADULT

OSMANIA UNIVERSITY
HYDERABAD

IN THE PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF

THE REQUIREMENT

FOR THE AWARD TO THE DEGREE IN

BACHELORS OF ARTS

SUBMITTED BY

SAYEDA FATIMA MUSKAAN

1238-20-541-045

DEPARTMENT OF ARTS

VILLA MARIE DEGREE COLLEGE FOR WOMEN

(AFFILIATED TO OSMANIA UNIVERSITY)

SOMAJIGUDA - HYDERABAD

2020 - 2023
 2

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the project work entitles “A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON

NIGHTMARE DISTRESS IN CHILDREN AND ADULTS” is a bonafide record of the

dissertation submitted by Ms Sayeda Fatima Muskaan bearing Hall Ticket No.

123820541045 to the Osmania University in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the

award of the degree of BACHELOR OF ARTS.

GUIDE PRINCIPAL

EXTERNAL
 3
DECLARATION

I, Sayeda Fatima Muskaan, hereby declare the project work entitled “A Re-

search on Nightmare Distress in Children and Adults” is based on my true

research carried out during the course of my degree of Bachelor Of Arts in

Villa Marie Degree College during the academic year 2020-23. I further de-

clare that to the best of my knowledge & believe this project report does not

contain any work which has been submitted to any other university or insti-

tution for the award of any degree or diploma.

Sayeda Fatima Muskaan

123820541045

20 April 2023
 4

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to address my gratitude towards the Department of Arts for giving me such expo-

sure so that this research could be conducted and the Head of the Department Ms Radha for her

guidance and advice throughout this research. I like to thank the participants for taking some

time and cooperating with me in this study. I would also like to thank my mother, who stood

patiently by my side while I conducted this research. I would also like to thank my classmates

Ms Akanksha, Akshitha, Manisha, Sania, Himadhaatri, Wafeeha and Maninder for their morale

support and efforts to help me in this study.

 5
ABSTRACT

The current study investigates whether there is a profound effect of dreams and nightmares

found in our waking lives attributable to 80 nightmares seen in adults and preteens aged be-

tween 12 and 35. To assess these nightmares, the Nightmare Distress Questionnaire (NDQ, Be-

licki, 1992), which is the most commonly used measure. Besides the sleep quality, we assessed

concepts daily that past research found to be related to dreams and nightmares.

Keywords: nightmares, dreams, distress, disorder, sleep, mental health, life events.
 6
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Description Pg. No.
Title Page 1

Certificate 3
Declaration 4

Acknowledgement 5
Abstract 6
Table Of Contents 7

List of Tables in The Research 8

Chapter - I
9
Introduction

Chapter - II
Review Of Literature
Objectives 10 - 13
Hypothesis
Variable

Chapter - III
Method
Research Design
Measures Used 13-14
Description Of Measures
Sample
Procedure

Chapter - IV
Results 15- 20
Analysis Of Data

Chapter - V
Discussion
21 - 24
Conclusion/Future Research
References

Questionnaire 25 - 29
 7

LIST OF TABLES IN THE RESEARCH

Description Pg. No.

Table 1 (Group A) 15 -16

Table 2 (Group B) 16- 17

Bar Graph
18 - 19
Pie Chart

Group Statistics
20
Independent Samples Test
 8
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

The three most essential things that are part of human life are having a good nutritional diet, an

exercise routine and a good night’s sleep. Sleep is one of the most inevitable occurrences in our

lives. It is something that comes naturally to us, like eating, drinking, etc. When we begin to

feel sleepy, it means that the body has reached its limit and that it should rest so that it does not

over-exert and create health complications. Sleeping well has impressive health benefits, such

as improving our cardiovascular health and preventing obesity, which even comes with a lot of

other problems. When falling asleep, the brain does not automatically turn off. Sleep occurs to

us through a thorough process, and different elements and parts of the brain (like the hy-

pothalamus and the brain stem) play vital roles in this process. In the first step of the process, a

person will constantly go back and forth between a rapid eye movement and a non-rapid eye

movement sleep. A small group of cells called the sub-coeruleus nucleus controls the REM

sleep cycle. During this phase, is when dreams most commonly occur.

Dreams are successions of images, sounds, ideas and emotions we experience involuntarily

during everyday life while sleeping. Dreams can occur almost anytime during our sleep. But

we have the most vivid dreams during the REM sleep cycle. Dreaming is essential for the hu-

man brain so that all people dream in their sleep whether they remember to dream or not.

When we’re awake, our thoughts have a certain sense to them. But when we fall asleep, al-

though our brain is still active, our thoughts or dreams make very little logic. We often hear

stories of people who’ve learned or been inspired by their dreams, like how the British musi-

cian Paul McCartney got the idea for his hit song “Yesterday” in his dreams or how

Mendeleev’s dream inspired the construction of the periodic table. Much information is avail-

able about sleep carrying out a major role in regulating our metabolism, the functioning of our
 9
brain, the pressure of our blood, etc. but very little is known to researchers about the role of

dreams.

Instead of being harbingers of creativity or some kind of message, scientists have considered

dreaming of being an unintentional byproduct of sleep- an evolution without benefit. Some ex-

perts also say that we dream at least four to six times a night. In one study, researchers woke up

people just when they were about to go into REM sleep. The ones who couldn’t dream were

found to be more anxious, depressed, had a hard time concentrating, lack of coordination, etc.

Many experts say that dreams exist to incorporate memories, process emotions and help us

solve our daily life problems. Experts have also found that when you fall asleep with a trou-

bling thought, you find yourself at ease after you may wake up and find a solution to the prob-

lem or at least feel better about the situation.

Dreams can range from being pleasurable and exciting, to terrifying. These scary dreams are

commonly known as “nightmares”. The American Psychological Association describes night-

mares as “a frightening or otherwise disturbing dream in which fear, sadness, despair, disgust,

or some combination thereof forms the emotional content”. The dreamer tends to wake sudden-

ly from a nightmare and is immediately alert and aware of his or her surroundings. Nightmares

are also known as bad dreams. It is common in children as well as adults. It often occurs due to

emotional problems, stress, conflict, fear, illness, or drug use. Nightmares develop into a disor-

der when they start affecting our social, occupational and everyday lives or when the person

starts experiencing a nightmare with the same topic or meaning repeatedly. At this point, such

an experience is called a “Nightmare Disorder”. Ever since Sigmund Freud, the father of psy-

choanalysis, called dream interpretation the ‘royal road’ to the unconscious state of mind and

nightmares as anxiety dreams. Very little research is made about the nature of nightmares and

nightmare disorder.
 10
CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Michael Schredl and Anja S. Göritz published, “Nightmare Themes: An Online Study of Most

Recent Nightmares and Childhood Nightmares.” This study aimed to investigate the variety of

nightmare themes in a sample drawn from the general population eliciting the most recent

nightmare (including childhood nightmares). Data was collected from 2,879 persons (1,784

female, 1,095 male) using a web-based cross-sectional survey. Nightmare frequency levels

were assessed using an eight-point rating scale (“How often do you experience nightmares?” 0:

never, 1: less than once a year, 2: about once a year, 3: about 2 to 4 times a year, 4: about once

a month, 5: about 2 to 3 times a month, 6: about once a week, 7: several times a week) using

the Typical Dream Questionnaire (TDQ) by Robert and Zadra.

The study concluded that nightmares encompass a diversity of different topics, including being

chased and physical aggression, including death/injury of close persons.

Kheana Barbeau, Alexandre Lafrenière, et al. published a study “Dissociated Effects of Age

and Recent Troubling Experiences on Nightmares, Threats and Negative Emotions in Dreams”

that investigated the potential interaction between age and experience of a recent troubling

event on the dysphoric characteristics of dreams. 260 participants were selected from a large

sample collected between 2004 and 2017 for a normative study of the dreams of Canadians.

The Mannheim Dream Questionnaire (MADRE), and Nightmare Frequency Questionnaire

(NFQ) were used for the assessment. The outcome of the study was that the recurrence of

nightmares can induce waking-life distress during the following day and also validated emerg-

ing evidence suggesting a decline of the disturbing character of dream experiences accompany-

ing the advancement in age.

 11
Amal A. Alghamdi, Nora O. Alafif, et al. published a study “Nightmares’ Pattern and Predic-

tors among Saudi University Students during COVID-19 Pandemic” to describe the pattern of

nightmares during the COVID-19 pandemic among male and female university students and

the related risk factors. 382 students (both male and female) participated in a cross-sectional

study conducted in Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia, after obtaining the required approval from King

Saud University using an online self-completed questionnaire distributed to students of KSU.

Generalized Sleep Disturbance Scale (GSDS) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) were

used to assess the samples’ sleep disturbances and anxiety levels. Nightmares were screened

according to the Third Edition of the International Classification of Sleep Disorders (ICSD-3)

diagnostic criteria, including recurrent episodes of awakening from sleep with a recall of dys-

phoric well-remembered dreams (with full alertness on awakening and good recall of sleep

mentation). The outcome showed that academic concerns affected the dreams of the female

participants more than those of the male participants and presented in the nightmare content

and anxiety symptoms that were more common among the students in the sciences track.

Margaret Floress, Brett R Kuhn, et al. published a study “Nightmare prevalence, distress, an

anxiety among young children” to fill a gap in the literature by examining the relationship be-

tween anxiety and nightmare experiences in young children, using both parents and children as

informants. 45 samples of parent-child pairs volunteered in this study. The questionnaire that

was used for the study was the Nightmare Experience Questionnaire (NEQ) and Spence

Preschool Anxiety Scale. The participants were solicited from two elementary schools across

the Midwest region of the United States. The outcome was found that children commonly ex-

perienced higher nightmare distress.

 12
Research Question:

The main research question was whether nightmares and dreams profoundly affect our waking

lives and whether to find the difference in nightmare distress levels in children and adults.

Objectives:

The main objectives of this research are:

1) To prove that nightmares can cause great distress, if not treated properly on time.

2) To test the various levels of nightmare distress in children and adults.

3) To study the nightmare levels in children and adults.

Hypothesis:

Based on the above research objectives, the following hypothesis was formulated and will be

tested in the study.

1) A profound effect of nightmares is found in children and adults alike.

2) That nightmare distress is greater in number for females and less in males.

Independent Variable:

The independent variable is the age groups varying from 12 to 35 years.

Dependent Variable:

The dependent variable is the nightmare distress levels of the participants.

 13
CHAPTER III

METHOD

Research Design:

A cross-sectional design was adopted to conduct the study on 40 samples aged 12-20 years and

40 samples aged 25-35 years; the total number of samples was 80.

Measure Used:

The Nightmare Distress Questionnaire (NDQ) was used, consisting of 13 items with a 5-point

scale.

Description Of Measures:

The Nightmare Distress Questionnaire (NDQ, Belicki, 1992), which is the most commonly

used questionnaire consists of 13 items measured using a 5-point Likert-type scale as the re-

sponse format (10 items with 1 = never to 5 = always; 2 items with 1= not at all to 5 = a great

deal; 1 item with 1 = not at all interested to 5 = extremely interested). The scale demonstrated

good psychometric properties.

SAMPLE

Samples consisted of 80 participants and it was conducted through physical data collection and

online Google forms. The age groups were divided into 40 people aged between 12 to 20 years

who participated from St. Francis High School and Degree College and 40 people aged be-

tween 25 to 35 years who worked/studied at Villa Marie Degree College or were homemakers.

The samples were literate. The inclusion criteria should be literate and the exclusion criteria

that anyone suffering from chronic, physical or psychological ailments and no participants

were below the age of 12 and above the age of 35.

 14

PROCEDURE

The following instructions were given- the samples were made to fill out an online Google

form and a physical data collection in the form of a booklet consisting of 13 items as per the

NDQ scale. After the completion of the questionnaire, the participants were thanked for their

participation. The scoring was done manually by noting down the answers and their designated

scores as per the NDQ scale. Statistical analysis using SPSS was also done.

PRECAUTIONS

1) Ensured the participants understood the instructions.

2) The questions should be solved in a sequence.

3) All the items should be attended to by the participants.

4) The confidentiality of the participants is maintained.

ANALYSIS OF DATA

Descriptive statistics such as mean, and standard deviation and inferential statistics such as t-

tests were used to analyze the data.

 15
CHAPTER IV
RESULTS

Table 1:

Sample Age Gender Occupation Score

1 18 Female Student 25
2 21 Male Student 40
3 24 Female Working 29
4 20 Female Student 48
5 22 Male Student 19
6 17 Female Student 27
7 18 Female Student 23
8 14 Male Student 30
9 12 Female Student 28
10 15 Female Student 39
11 20 Female Student 25
12 24 Male Working/Student 45
13 13 Male Student 52
14 19 Male Student 30
15 20 Female Student 28
16 20 Male Student 33
17 24 Female Working/Student 32
18 21 Female Student 25
19 23 Male Working/Student 36
20 20 Male Student 41
21 19 Female Student 21
22 21 Female Student 41
23 20 Male Student 40
24 13 Female Student 38
25 15 Male Student 49
26 17 Female Student 45
27 19 Female Student 26
28 22 Female Student 48
29 20 Female Student 27
30 21 Female Student 28
 16

Sample Age Gender Occupation Score

31 21 Female Student 21
32 19 Female Student 59
33 21 Male Student 29
34 22 Male Student 30
35 20 Female Student 28
36 20 Female Student 31
37 19 Male Student 30
38 20 Male Student 30
39 15 Female Student 27
40 35 Male Homemaker 34
Group A - Samples of the age group 12-20 years.

Total = 40 Mean = 1337

Table 2:

Sample Age Gender Occupation Score

1 35 Female Homemaker 34
2 31 Male Working 26
3 30 Male Working 35
4 34 Female Working/Homemaker 41
5 32 Male Working/Student 16
6 25 Female Working/Student 45
7 26 Female Student 31
8 27 Female Working/Homemaker 50
9 28 Female Student 33
10 30 Male Working 31
11 25 Male Working 37
12 26 Male Working 40
13 26 Female Working 35
14 32 Male Working 35
15 34 Male Working 16
16 33 Male Working 30
17 27 Female Working/Student 27
18 31 Female Homemaker 33
19 32 Male Working 33
20 35 Female Homemaker 33
 17

Sample Age Gender Occupation Score

21 25 Male Working 39
22 34 Female Working 32
23 28 Female Working 13
24 32 Male Homemaker 37
25 28 Female Working/Student 44
26 26 Female Working/Student 26
27 34 Male Working 41
28 35 Male Working 23
29 34 Male Working/Homemaker 18
30 32 Female Homemaker 37
31 25 Female Working/Student 27
32 33 Female Homemaker 33
33 25 Female Working/Student 27
34 35 Female Homemaker 61
35 27 Male Working 33
36 28 Female Working 28
37 32 Male Working 29
38 25 Male Student 29
39 26 Male Working 33
40 29 Male Working 29

Group B - Samples of the age group 25-35 years.

Total = 40 Mean = 1301

 18
Bar Graphs:

Mean of Sample 1 & Sample 2

Age Difference of Sample 1 & Sample 2

 19
Pie Charts:

Occupation Pie Chart

Females vs Males
 20
ANALYSIS OF DATA

Group Statistics

SAMPLE

Sample N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error

Mean
Score Sample 1 40 32.5250 9.06667 1.43357

Sample 2 40 33.4250 9.38599 1.48406

Independent Samples Test

Levene’s Test for Equality T-Test for Equality of Means

of Variances

95% Con dence Interval of

the Di erence
F Sig. t df Sig. Mean Std. Lower Upper
(2- Di . Error
tailed) Di .
Score Equal 1.006 0.319 -0.436 78 0.664 0.900002.06338 -5.00787 3.20787
vari-
ances
ass-
sumed
Equal -0.436 77.907 0.664 0.900002.06338 -5.00795 3.20795
vari-
ances
not as-
sumed
ff
ff
ff
fi
 21
CHAPTER V

DISCUSSION

The results found in the study are shown here. It is seen that there is no significant difference in

the level of nightmares distress in children and adults.

Although there is less difference found between children’s and adults’ anxiety and nightmare

occurrence, children who self-reported were also found to have more anxiety. These findings

tell us that previous research suggested a bidirectional relationship between anxiety and night-

mares in that anxiety may increase the frequency and intensity of nightmares and experiencing

nightmares may also cause anxiety. Furthermore, the findings in this study also show us that

there was a slight gender difference in the samples where females have shown to have greater

nightmare distress levels than males and that there was an immensely large group of samples

who were students who have shown greater nightmare distress levels, followed by people who

work in various organisations.

As the results have shown that p is greater than 0.05 (p>0.05) we can accept that the null hy-

pothesis is true. Thus, there is no significant difference in the nightmare distress levels of chil-

dren and adults.

CONCLUSION

A comparative study of nightmare distress levels in children and adults was conducted, females

and males alike.

FUTURE RESEARCH

This study adds much to understanding nightmare experiences and anxiety in children. It has

also contributed findings that can help us in comprehending the element of having nightmares

and dreams and how our brain comes about to create this phenomenon.
 22

REFERENCES:

1. Napias A, Denechere E, Mayo W, Ghorayeb I. Assessment of dream-related aspects and

beliefs in a large cohort of French students using a validated French version of the

Mannheim Dream questionnaire. PLoS One. 2021 Mar 4;16(3):e0247506. doi 10.1371/

journal.pone.0247506. PMID: 33662038; PMCID: PMC7932137.

2. IvyPanda. (2023, January 20). 74 Dreaming Essay Topic Ideas & Examples. https://ivypan-

da.com/essays/topic/dreaming-essay-examples/

3. Smith, M. (2010). How much sleep do you need? Web.

4. Drerup M (2017). Why do we dream?

health.clevelandclinic.org/2017/05/how-are-dreams-related-to-your-health/

5. Fairbrother K, et al. (2014). Effects of exercise on timing on sleep architecture and noctur-

nal pressure in prehypertensives. DOI:

10.2147/VHRM.S73688

6. Franklin M, et al. (2005). The role of dreams in the evolution of the human mind. DOI:

10.1177/147470490500300106

7. Nightmares – What are they and how do you treat them? (n.d.).

sleepassociation.org/patients-general-public/nightmares/

8. Rasch B, et al. (2013). About sleep’s role in memory. DOI:

10.1152/physrev.00032.2012

9. Siclari F, et al. (2017). The neural correlates of dreaming. DOI:

10.1038/nn.4545

10. International Association for the Study of Dreams: "Common Questions About Dreams.”

11. National Sleep Foundation: "In Your Dreams," "Dreams and Sleep.”

12. DreamScience.org: "The Science of Dreaming.”

 23
13. University of California Santa Cruz: "The Quantitative Study of Dreams: Frequently Asked

Questions.”

14. PBS.org: "Dreams: Expert Q&A.”

15. Ernest Hartmann, The Nightmare: the psychology and Biology of a terrifying dream, 21

Jan. 2010, University of Michigan, Basic Books, 1984

16. Joanne L. Davis PhD, Treating Post-Trauma Nightmares: A Cognitive Behavioral Ap-

proach, Springer Publishing Company, 2008

17. Paul R. Carney, Richard B. Berry, James D. Geyer, Clinical Sleep Disorders, Lippincott

Williams & Wilkins, 2012 Schredl M, Göritz AS. Nightmare Themes: An Online Study of

Most Recent Nightmares and Childhood Nightmares. J Clin Sleep Med. 2018 Mar

15;14(3):465-471. doi: 10.5664/jcsm.7002. PMID: 29458691; PMCID: PMC5837849.

18. Schredl M, Göritz AS. Nightmare Themes: An Online Study of Most Recent Nightmares

and Childhood Nightmares. J Clin Sleep Med. 2018 Mar 15;14(3):465-471. doi: 10.5664/

jcsm.7002. PMID: 29458691; PMCID: PMC5837849.

19. Barbeau, K., Lafrenière, A., Ben Massaoud, H., Campbell, E., & De Koninck, J. (2022).

Dissociated Effects of Age and Recent Troubling Experiences on Nightmares, Threats and

Negative Emotions in Dreams. Frontiers in psychiatry, 13, 770380. https://doi.org/10.3389/

fpsyt.2022.770380

20. Alghamdi AA, Alafif NO, BaHammam AS, Almuammar M, Alharbi NS, Alhefdhi NA, Al-

Musharaf S, Al Ghamdi KS, AlYousif GF, Al Muhanna NF. Nightmares' Pattern and Pre-

dictors among Saudi University Students during COVID-19 Pandemic. Int J Environ Res

Public Health. 2022 Feb 4;19(3):1776. doi 10.3390/ijerph19031776. PMID: 35162799;

PMCID: PMC8835620.Schredl M, Gilles M, Wolf I, Peus V, Scharnholz B, Sütterlin M,

Bardtke S, Send TS, Samaras A, Deuschle M. Nightmares and Stress: A Longitudinal

 24
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31538591; PMCID: PMC6760404.

21. Böckermann, M., Gieselmann, A., & Pietrowsky, R. (2014). What does nightmare distress

mean? Factorial structure and psychometric properties of the Nightmare Distress Question-

naire (NDQ). Dreaming, 24(4), 279–289. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0037749

22. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312120443_Nightmare_prevalence_dis-

tress_and_anxiety_among_young_children

23. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15402002.2015.1017099
 25
Appendix:

A Research on Nightmares
Hello~
I, Sayeda Fatima Muskaan, currently pursuing an undergraduate degree
in B.A. in Psychology, Mass Communication & Journalism and Eng-
lish, am researching to assess how much distress nightmares can cause
an individual generally.
Following are (13) thirteen questions.
If you ever have nightmares, please answer these questions thoughtfully
and carefully.

* Mention Your Age: *

__________

Questions Always Often Some- Rarely Never

times

Q.1 When
you awak-
en from a
night-
mare, do
you find
that you
keep
thinking
about it
and have
difficulty
putting it
out of
your
mind?
 26

Q.2 Do
you ever
find your-
self avoid-
ing or dis-
liking or
fearing
someone
because
they were
in your
night-
mare?

Q.3 Are
you ever
afraid to
fall asleep
for fear of
having a
night-
mare?

Q.4 After
you awak-
en from a
night-
mare, do
you have
difficulty
falling
back
asleep?

Q.5 Do
night-
mares in-
terfere
with the
quality of
your
sleep?
 27

Q.6 Do
you have
difficulties
coping
with
night-
mares?

Q.7 Do
you feel
you have a
problem
with
night-
mares?

Q.8 Do
night-
mares af-
fect your
well-be-
ing?

Q.9 Do
you ever
have the
feeling
that some-
thing that
happened
in your
nightmare
has really
occurred?

Q.10 Do
your
night-
mares
foretell
the fu-
ture?
 28

Q.11
When you
have a
night-
mare, does
it ever
seem so
real that
when you
awaken
you have
difficulty
convinc-
ing your-
self it’s
“just a
dream” ?

Q.12 In
the past
year have
you con-
sidered
seeking
profes-
sional help
for your
night-
mares?

Q.13 If a therapy programme were available that might help you control,
or to stop having nightmares, how interested would you be in participat-
ing?

Extremely Interested
Very Interested
Somewhat Interested
Slightly Interested
Not At All Interested

Thank you for your candour.