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Background: Suicide is a leading cause of death among students in higher education, driven in large part by mental illness, but also mental wellness. Relatively few studies have examined the extent to which depression and flourishing/languishing interact in relation to suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Methods: We analyzed data from the Healthy Minds Study (2020–2021; emerging adult students aged 18–29; N = 101,435), and calculated interaction contrast ratios to estimate the interaction between depression and flourishing/languishing on suicidal thoughts and behaviors, using an additive scale, adjusting for age, gender, race/ethnicity, and food insecurity. Results: When compared with students who were flourishing without depression, the students who were languishing without depression, and the students who were depressed but still flourishing had significantly greater odds of suicidal thoughts and behaviors. However, students who were depressed and languishing had the greatest odds, exceeding the sum of the individual effects. Conclusion: The interaction of depression and flourishing/languishing produced a synergy that increased odds of suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Flourishing interventions may prove to be an effective strategy for universal suicide prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This case series highlights the connection between childhood intense imagery movements (IIM) and adult‐reported maladaptive daydreaming (MD). Motor stereotypies occur in typically developing children and also with co‐occurring neurodevelopmental differences. A subgroup with complex motor stereotypies reports accompanying intense imagery, often enhanced by the movements. This phenomenon can persist into adulthood and, in some cases, will need active management to prevent significant distress and impairment. Cases: Six adults, self‐reporting maladaptive daydreaming associated with stereotypies, are presented to demonstrate the associations. Literature Review: The clinical significance and function of IIM and MD are unclear, but several hypotheses are discussed, including the mechanism of emotional regulation through sensory seeking, as a process for processing childhood psychological trauma, as intrusive thoughts or images as part of a subtype of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, or as a result of diverse attentional networks seen in neurodevelopmental disorders. Conclusions: This paper highlights important connections between IIM and MD. Many adults with MD show a childhood origin of stereotypical movements. Whilst immersive daydreaming may provide creativity and emotional regulation, there is evidence of distress and impairment of function for some adults, leading to MD diagnoses. Recognizing this phenomenon is important for all neurologists and physicians working with stereotypical movements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The abbreviated version of the World Health Organization (WHO) Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) psychosis screen tends to yield high prevalence in online samples. Psychotic Experiences (PE) may not necessarily indicate current or imminent psychopathology; however, distressing PE appear to be more clinically informative. Methods: We analyzed data collected from an online survey administered to a Qualtrics panel (N = 2522 adults). Using multivariable logistic regression, we examined the association between PE (with and without associated distress) and several mental health outcomes, adjusting for age, gender, and race/ethnicity. Results: Individuals with distressing PE had greater odds of most mental health outcomes when compared with individuals with non‐distressing PE. This was true for being in mental health treatment, loneliness, probable mental illness, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempt, adjusting for age, gender, race/ethnicity, and education level. The only exception was for hazardous alcohol use, for which there was no significant association with distressing PE. Conclusion: As screening for PE gains traction in public health and preventive medicine, using an abbreviated version of the WHO CIDI psychosis screen may be clinically informative, especially when eliciting the distressful nature of PE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maladaptive daydreaming (MD) is the excessive employment of immersive daydreaming characterized by highly absorbing fantasy experiences that become a preferred focus of consciousness at the expense of living in the real world. Active dissociative processes like depersonalization and derealization, including those also characteristic of dissociative identity disorder (DID): amnesia, identity confusion, and identity alteration, may be present and, like in DID, seem to be psychodynamically driven. Comorbidity with attention deficit disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and others is typical. Often associated with profound shame experience, it is, like DID, a condition that tends to be concealed and requires a clinician to be knowledgeable about its nature before a diagnosis can occur and effective treatment be initiated. We introduce the concept, explore its clinical associations and manifestations, and provide several case vignettes to illustrate the breadth and depth of this potentially debilitating variation on daydreaming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reality shifting (RS) is a trendy mental activity that emerged abruptly following the flare-up of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and seems to be practiced mainly by members of the post-millennial generation. RS, described as the experience of being able to transcend one's physical confines and visit alternate, mostly fictional, universes, is discussed by many on Internet platforms. One RS forum boasts over 40,000 members and RS clips on some social media platforms have been viewed over 1.7 billion times. The experience of shifting is reportedly facilitated by specific induction methods involving relaxation, concentration of attention, and autosuggestion. Some practitioners report a strong sense of presence in their desired realities, reified by some who believe in the concrete reality of the alternate world they shift to. One of the most popular alternate universes involves environments adopted from the Harry Potter book and film series. We describe the phenomenology of RS as reported online and then compare it to related phenomena such as hypnosis, tulpamancy, dissociation, immersive and maladaptive daydreaming, and lucid dreaming. We propose a theoretical model of interactive factors giving rise to RS, and conclude that it is an important, uninvestigated emerging phenomenon and propose future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A strong and specific link between obsessive-compulsive disorder or symptoms (OCD/S) and a tendency for dissociative experiences (e.g., depersonalizationderealization, absorption and imaginative involvement) cannot be explained by trauma and is poorly understood. The present theoretical formulation proposes five different models conceptualizing the relationship. According to Model 1, dissociative experiences result from OCD/S through inward-focused attention and repetition. According to Model 2, dissociative absorption causally brings about both OCD/S and associated cognitive risk factors, such as thoughtaction fusion, partly through impoverished sense of agency. The remaining models highlight common underlying causal mechanisms: temporo-parietal abnormalities impairing embodiment and sensory integration (Model 3); sleep alterations causing sleepiness and dreamlike thought or mixed sleep-wake states (Model 4); and a hyperactive, intrusive imagery system with a tendency for pictorial thinking (Model 5). The latter model relates to Maladaptive Daydreaming, a suggested dissociative syndrome with strong ties to the obsessive-compulsive spectrum. These five models point to potential directions for future research, as these theoretical accounts may aid the two fields in interacting with each other, to the benefit of both. Finally, several dissociation-informed paths for further developing clinical intervention in OCD are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: Maladaptive Daydreaming (MD) is a suggested syndrome where individuals become addicted to fantasizing vividly for hours on end at the expense of engaging in real-world relationships and functioning. MD can be seen as a behavioral addiction. However, a paucity of longitudinal research means that there is no empirical evidence confirming the stability of this alleged addiction. Moreover, the direction of its association with psychopathology is unclear. Methods: We examine, for the first time, long-term stability and longitudinal associations between MD, psychological distress (stress, anxiety, and depression symptoms) and COVID-19 related exposure. Results: Participants (N = 814) completed an online survey twice, with a lag of 13 months. A two-wave structural equation model demonstrated high MD stability and positive cross-lagged pathways from MD to psychological distress. COVID-19 related exposure was not a longitudinal predictor. Discussion and conclusions: MD is a stable condition and a risk factor for an increase in psychological distress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite a robust consensus regarding the potentially negative implications of childhood sexual abuse (CSA), research investigating risk and protective factors—particularly among well-functioning young adults—is scant. Dissociation is one of the major maladaptive outcomes of CSA. Nevertheless, CSA explains only about 10% of the variance of dissociation. Possibly, this modest effect size is due to protective factors moderating the relation between CSA and dissociative symptoms. One such factor may be the extent to which one has succeeded in developing a clear and coherent sense of who they are. Objective: We aimed to explore whether self-concept clarity (SCC) moderates the relationship between CSA and dissociation (Model 1), and an alternative hypothesis, whereby CSA may moderate the relationship between SCC and dissociation (Model 2). Participants and Setting: This was tested among 65 well-functioning young women drawn from an earlier study that intentionally oversampled CSA survivors. Methods: We included data from survivors of CSA by a known perpetrator (n = 35) and women with no sexual trauma (n = 30). Results: Findings were consistent with both Model 1 and Model 2, but only when depersonalization-derealization, namely detachment, was considered. Simple effects analyses revealed that CSA was related to depersonalization-derealization only under low SCC levels (Model 1), and SCC was negatively related to depersonalization-derealization only in the CSA group (Model 2). Conclusions: Findings suggest that SCC is a protective factor, buffering the association between CSA and detachment (depersonalization-derealization) symptoms. Clinical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Maladaptive daydreaming (MD) entails excessive immersion and engagement in complex fantasy worlds, causing distress and impairing functioning. Maladaptive Daydreamers often report that existing diagnostic labels are unhelpful for them. Previous studies reported high rates of comorbid attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among persons with MD, raising the question of their separateness. This study explored whether MD differs essentially from ADHD by examining an ADHD sample, hypothesizing a much lower incidence of MD. Method: Adults diagnosed with ADHD (N = 83) were assessed for ADHD symptoms, MD, depression, loneliness, and self‐esteem. Participants who exceeded the study's cutoff score for suspected MD were invited to participate in a structured diagnostic interview for MD. Results: In accordance with the hypothesis, only 20.5% of the ADHD sample met the proposed diagnostic criteria for MD. Compared with ADHD‐only participants, this subgroup presented increased depression, loneliness, and lowered self‐esteem. Conclusion: MD has unique clinical characteristics that are distinct from ADHD. We suggest that in some cases presenting with ADHD symptoms, an MD conceptualization may better explain the clinical picture. Future research should aim at a better differentiation of daydreaming, ADHD, and related constructs such as mind‐wandering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Maladaptive Daydreaming (MD) is a recently identified psychological disorder, characterized by excessively and addictively engaging in vivid, narrative, intensely emotional fantasy activity, at times with the aid of music and/or repetitive movements, causing distress and functional impairment. Over 100,000 self-diagnosed individuals are active online and thousands of them have been researched; yet there are no studies using clinical interviews on large, systematic general (non-MD) samples, to assess the estimated prevalence of this suggested disorder, and establish norms for its main psychometric tool. Methods: Four independent Israeli samples (three student samples, and one sample representing the general Jewish-Israeli population; total N = 1,023) self-reported MD. In two samples, those exceeding the cutoff score for suspected MD were invited for a structured clinical interview. Results: The skewness of most items of the 16-item Maladaptive Daydreaming Scale (MDS-16) supports the notion of MD as a binary construct rather than a normally distributed trait. In the community sample, 4.2% exceeded the cutoff for suspected MD. Rates were higher when focusing on the young adult age group or student samples (5.5–8.5%), suggesting a likely age effect. Following clinical interviews, only 60% of interviewed respondents met criteria for diagnosis, suggesting a true point-prevalence of 2.5% in the Israeli-Jewish population. Conclusions: This is the first systematic clinical evaluation of the prevalence of MD. In an Israeli sample, a point-prevalence of 2.5% was found, like several other internalizing psychiatric syndromes. This result, along with the Non-normal nature of item distribution, both support the validity of MD as a psychological disorder, which should be considered as a potential addition to future psychiatric diagnostic manuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Severe dissociation is trauma‐related, but a range of dissociative experiences are also prevalent in clinical populations that are not necessarily trauma‐based (e.g., depression, anxiety disorders, and obsessive–compulsive disorders). These remain poorly understood as the dominant etiological model for dissociation relies on trauma. Importantly, dissociation in such samples predicts poor prognosis and high drop‐out rates. We set out to better understand the aetiology of dissociative experiences in a mixed clinical (anxiety and depression) and community sample by exploring between‐ and within‐subjects effects of two domains: psychological distress or negative affectivity (operationalized as anxiety and depression symptoms), and poor sleep quality, including disturbed dreaming. The idea that negative affectivity triggers dissociation (Distress Model) is inspired by the trauma model. The idea that poor sleep and unusual dreaming underlie dissociation (Sleep Model) has been suggested as a competing theory. We examined both models by exploring which domains oscillate alongside dissociative experiences. N = 98 adults, half of them diagnosed with depression and anxiety and half community controls, underwent a structured clinical interview and completed questionnaires monthly for 6 months. Support was found for both models in that each domain had a unique explanatory contribution. Distress evinced consistent effects that could not be explained by sleep or dreaming, both between individuals and across time. Oscillations in dissociation across months, when taking psychological distress into account, were better explained by unusual dreaming than traditional sleep quality measures. These findings cannot be generalized to highly‐traumatized samples. A complex, integrated etiological model for dissociative experiences is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Dissociation refers to a disintegration between psychological elements; common manifestations are embodied in "absorption and imaginative involvement," a propensity for being immersed in a stimulus while oblivious to the environment, and acting without awareness. Trait dissociation was hypothesized to relate to lower EEG signal connectivity, but studies on healthy populations are scarce. The present study set out to examine whether dissociative absorption in a nonclinical sample would be associated with decreased intrahemispheric coherence.Method: In 84 healthy Israeli soldiers (49% females; Mage  = 22.24, SD = 2.64), resting-state electroencephalography (rsEEG) was recorded for a period of 3 min with eyes closed and 3 min with eyes open.Results: Decreased coherence was related to high dissociative absorption in the long (frontal-occipital) range, and in one of the pairs of the short range (central-parietal). The effects emerged mostly in the left hemisphere, in both eyes-open and eyes-closed conditions, and for a range of spectral bands, although long-range effects were more pronounced in slow-wave bands (theta and delta).Conclusions: Dissociative absorption is manifested in segregated cortical activity, supporting the notion that it may represent less integrated mental functioning. The findings contribute to our understanding of the neural correlates of consciousness and personality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Depersonalization–derealization (DEP‐DER) is a dissociative experience which is related to psychopathology and distress. Yet, the aetiological factors leading to DEP‐DER are not sufficiently clear. In this study, we suggest rumination as one possible antecedent. Thus, the goal of the study was to explore the longitudinal relationship between rumination and DEP‐DER. Design: Longitudinal self‐report study; mixed clinical and community sample. Methods: The study was conducted on 98 participants, 49 of them were diagnosed with depression, anxiety disorders, or obsessive–compulsive disorder, and the other 49 were healthy, matched community controls. The participants underwent a structured clinical interview and completed a battery of questionnaires. Then, the participants completed the same battery again once a month, for five additional assessment points (6 months in total). The data were analysed using multilevel linear modelling with time‐lag analysis. Results: We found that levels of rumination and DEP‐DER increased and decreased simultaneously, meaning that on assessments in which people reported that they tended to ruminate, they also reported higher levels of DEP‐DER symptoms. In addition, we found support for a unidirectional association, consistent with our theoretical hypothesis. Specifically, rumination levels on a certain month longitudinally predicted a higher likeliness for reporting DEP‐DER on the following month, even when controlling for the contemporaneous relationship. Conversely, DEP‐DER symptoms did not longitudinally predict increased rumination. Conclusions: These findings suggest that rumination may be an antecedent of DEP‐DER, but not vice versa. Possible mechanisms to explain this link are discussed. Practitioner points: Rumination and DEP‐DER oscillate together over time; additionally, rumination predicts a longitudinal increase in DEP‐DER.Clinicians noticing ruminative thought followed by decreased emotionality should distinguish between an authentic decrease of distress versus detachment.The findings provide one possible explanation for the frequency of DEP‐DER symptoms in anxiety and depressive disorders.Poor sleep quality and emotion regulation difficulties should be explored as potential mediators explaining this link. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: Maladaptive Daydreaming (MD) is a proposed mental disorder, in which absorption in rich, narrative fantasy becomes addictive and compulsive, resulting in emotional, social, vocational, or academic dysfunction. Most studies on MD were carried out on aggregated international samples, using translated versions of the Maladaptive Daydreaming Scale (MDS-16). However, it is unknown whether the properties of MD are affected by culture. Thus, we investigated the cross-cultural measurement invariance of the MDS-16. Methods: We recruited both individuals self-identified as suffering from MD and non-clinical community participants from four countries: the USA, Italy, Turkey, and the UK (N 5 1,081). Results: Configural invariance was shown, suggesting that the hypothesized four-factor structure of the MDS-16 (including Yearning, Impairment, Kinesthesia, and Music) holds across cultures. Metric invariance was shown for Impairment, Kinesthesia, and Music, but not for Yearning, suggesting that the psychological meaning of the latter factor may be understood differently across cultures. Scalar invariance was not found, as MD levels were higher in the USA and UK, probably due to the over-representation of English-speaking members of MD communities, who volunteered for the study. Discussion and conclusions: We conclude that the urge to be absorbed in daydreaming and the fantasies' comforting and addictive properties may have different meanings across countries, but the interference of MD to one's daily life and its obstruction of long-term goals may be the central defining factor of MD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lucid dreams (LD), i.e., dreams in which one is cognizant of the fact that one is dreaming, have become well-known in recent years, and their deliberate induction has become widespread. Because control over dream events is considered an inherent part of LD, control items have often been included as indicators of lucidity (e.g., Watson, [42]) or mentioned as part of the LD definition (e.g., Tart, [38]). Dream characteristics related to lessened symptoms are not just control but also confidence of the lucidity and dream length, together labeled as LD intensity (Aviram and Soffer-Dudek, [2]). However, that conclusion was based mostly on studies that assessed LD by averaging dream awareness with dream control into a single measure. [Extracted from the article]

Objective: Dissociative absorption is a tendency to become absorbed in imagination or in an external stimulus (movie, book) to the point of obliviousness to one's surroundings and reduced self‐awareness. It has been hypothesized to play a role in the maintenance of obsessive‐compulsive (OC) symptoms. However, because absorption is a trait of reduced attentional control, a possible confound may be attention‐deficit/hyperactivity (ADHD) symptoms, which have been reported to be comorbid with obsessive‐compulsive disorder (OCD). This study aimed to validate dissociative absorption as unique from ADHD symptoms as well as from mind‐wandering and to show that it has incremental predictive value over these constructs in predicting OC symptoms. Design: Cross‐sectional. Method: Three‐hundred and three undergraduate students completed online questionnaires, which were analysed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Results: As hypothesized, dissociative absorption emerged as a unique construct, separate from ADHD, and mind‐wandering (whereas the latter two were not completely separate from each other). Additionally, absorption was uniquely associated with OC symptoms, with a moderate‐to‐strong effect size, demonstrating incremental predictive value over the other constructs. Conclusions: Attentional deficits and mind‐wandering cannot account for the association between absorption and OC symptoms. Future research should explore whether reports of comorbidity between ADHD and OC symptoms may be inflated due to misdiagnosis of absorption tendencies as ADHD. Practitioner points: Dissociative absorption is a personality tendency that may interact with obsessive‐compulsive symptoms, and thus, it may deserve clinical attention when treating obsessive‐compulsive disorder (OCD)Dissociative absorption might bring about an unnecessary diagnosis of attention‐deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in individuals with obsessive‐compulsive symptoms, and thus, it should be screened for.This study was based on a non‐clinical sample; future studies should replicate the findings among samples with an OCD diagnosis.This study is based on self‐report questionnaires; future studies should use clinician interviews. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teeth dreams (TD), i.e., dreams of teeth falling out or rotting, are one of the most common and universal typical dream themes, yet their source remains unknown and they have rarely been studied empirically. They are especially enigmatic as they do not readily fall under the rubric of the "continuity hypothesis", i.e., dreams of current and salient waking-life experiences. The aim of the present study was to explore two possible hypotheses for the origin of TD; specifically, TD as incorporation of dental irritation into dreaming, and TD as a symbolic manifestation of psychological distress. Dream themes, dental irritation, psychological distress, and sleep quality were assessed among 210 undergraduates. TD were related to dental irritation (specifically, tension sensations in the teeth, gums, or jaws upon awakening), whereas other dream types were not. Conversely, TD were unrelated to psychological distress, whereas other dream types were (specifically, dreams of being smothered and dreams of falling). This disparity in the correlates of TD existed despite a small but significant relationship between psychological distress and dental irritation. Albeit preliminary, the present findings support the dental irritation hypothesis and do not support the symbolic hypothesis regarding the origins of TD. Research on TD portrays one path through which the mind may distort somatosensory stimuli and incorporate them into dreams as a vivid and emotionally salient image; these preliminary findings highlight the potential of studying TD in order to broaden our understanding of the cognitive mechanisms governing dream production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Maladaptive Daydreaming (MD) characterizes individuals who engage in vivid, fanciful daydreaming for hours on end, neglecting real-life relationships and responsibilities, resulting in clinical distress and functional impairment. Sufferers have embraced the termMD in cyber-communities devoted to this problembecause it seemed to uniquely fit their experience and since existing diagnostic labels and their therapies seemed inadequate. However, scientific research in the field has been scarce, relying on cross-sectional or case study designs. Existing knowledge on MD suggests the involvement of dissociative and obsessive-compulsive symptoms, as well as positive reinforcement comparable to processes in addiction disorders. The present study aimed to rigorously explore factors that accompany MD employing a longitudinal daily-diary design, hypothesizing that temporal increases in MD will associate concurrently with, and will temporally precede, other symptoms and emotional changes. In addition, we aimed to explore which symptoms may act as precursors to increases in MD, in order to identify possible mechanisms bringing about daydreaming in these individuals. Methods: In a sample of 77 self-diagnosed individuals with MD we assessed relevant daily symptoms for 14 days, including MD, depression, general anxiety, social anxiety, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and dissociation, as well as positive and negative emotion. Results: Increases in MD were strongly related to concurrent increases in all other symptoms and negative emotion, and to decreased positive emotion. Obsessive-compulsive symptoms, dissociation, and negative emotion also temporally followed MD. Obsessive-compulsive symptoms were the only consistent temporal antecedent of MD. Conclusions: MD and obsessive-compulsive symptoms coincided in what seems to be a vicious cycle; understanding possible shared mechanisms between these symptoms may inform our understanding of the etiology of MD. For example, Serotonin levels may possibly be involved in the development or maintenance of this condition. The findings may also provide clues as to potentially beneficial interventions for treating MD. For example, perhaps utilizing response prevention techniques may be useful for curbing or intercepting unwanted daydreaming. Future studies on MD should address its compulsory nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lucid dreaming (LD) is awareness that one is dreaming, during the dream state. However, some define and assess LD relying also on controlling dream events, although control is present only in a subset of lucid dreams. LD has been claimed to represent well-being, and has even been used as a therapeutic agent. Conversely, LD is associated with mixed sleep-wake states, which are related to bizarre cognitions, stress, and psychopathology, and have been construed as arousal permeating and disrupting sleep. We propose that previous conflicting findings regarding relations between LD and both psychopathology and well-being, stem from the non-differentiated assessment of frequency and control. The present study aimed to develop an expansive measure of several LD characteristics (the Frequency and Intensity Lucid Dream questionnaire; FILD), and explore their relations with symptomatology. Undergraduate students (N = 187) self-reported trait LD, psychopathology (depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, dissociation, and schizotypy), stress, and sleep problems; 2 months later, a subsample (n = 78) reported psychopathology again, and also completed a dream diary each morning for 14 days. Preliminary evidence supports the reliability and validity of the FILD. Items converged into four domains: frequency, intensity (e.g., control, activity, certainty of dreaming), emotional valence, and the use of induction techniques. We report an optimal frequency cutoff score to identify those likely to experience LD within a 2-week period. Whereas LD frequency was unrelated to psychopathology, LD intensity, and positive LD emotions, were inversely associated with several psychopathological symptoms. Use of deliberate induction techniques was positively associated with psychopathology and sleep problems. Additionally, we demonstrated directionality by employing a prospective-longitudinal design, showing that deliberate LD induction predicted an increase in dissociation and schizotypy symptoms across 2 months. We conclude that lucidity should not be considered as necessarily suggestive of well-being; LD may be positive or negative, depending on lucidity characteristics. Additionally, deliberate LD induction may harbor negative long-term risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Dissociative experiences are associated with several psychopathological symptoms and are a hindrance to therapeutic gain. Depersonalization-derealization (DEP-DER) is positively associated with stress and anxiety, while absorption and imaginative involvement (ABS), a tendency for total, immersed attention, is commonly referred to asnonpathological dissociation, although it is positively associated with obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms. Previous studies in the field have been mainly cross-sectional. The present study aimed to examine these associations rigorously and attempted to determine directionality between dissociation and distress.Method: The current study employed both variable-centered (cross-sectional) and person-centered (longitudinal, within-subjects) analyses of the associations of DEP-DER and ABS with distress. Undergraduate students (N = 184) completed trait questionnaires on dissociation, stress, anxiety, depression, and OC symptoms, andn = 78 also completed questionnaires assessing the same constructs daily for 14 days. Multiple regression and multilevel modeling analyses were conducted.Results: In the cross-sectional phase, DEP-DER was uniquely positively related to anxiety and OC symptoms, and ABS was uniquely positively related to OC symptoms. In the daily diary phase, increases in DEP-DER were related to increases in anxiety, depression, OC symptoms, and stress, while increases in ABS were related to increases in OC symptoms and stress. In addition, time-lag analysis showed that ABS tended to temporally precede OC.Conclusions: ABS foretold increases in OC symptoms, at least in this nonclinical sample. Future studies on clinical samples should explore whether ABS should be referred to as “nonpathological” and its possible role in the development or maintenance of clinical-level OCD. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

ABSTRACT Sleep patterns and temperament in the first year of life are closely related. However, research utilizing objective, rather than subjective measurements of sleep and temperament is scarce and results are inconsistent. In addition, a relative lack of longitudinal data prevents inference of causality between the two constructs. In this study, infant sleep was objectively assessed among 95 infants at 3, 6, and 12 months-of-age with an actigraph in the home setting. Reactivity to sound, light, and touch, a specific aspect of temperament, was behaviorally assessed at 3 and 6 months, both during sleep (at home) and during waking (at the laboratory). Expected maturational trends were recorded in sleep, with a temporal increase in sleep efficiency and percent of motionless sleep. Quadratic (i.e., inverse U shape) relations were found, especially among girls, when predicting change in sleep by reactivity thresholds, suggesting that both hyposensitive and hypersensitive infants are at risk for poor sleep quality. These are the first research findings suggesting that low reactivity in infancy might be associated with compromised sleep quality. The observed nonlinear effects may account for null or inconsistent results in previous studies that explored only linear associations between temperament and sleep. Future studies should address both extremes of the temperament continuum when exploring relations with sleep patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dissociation is an alteration in consciousness that is viewed as an avoidant or repressive coping style in response to distress. Previous literature suggests that stressful life events (an external source of stress) bring about dissocia- tion, and that dissociation is correlated with psychopathological symptoms (an internal source of distress). We examined the main and interactive effects of external stress and internal distress on dissociation using two longitudinal studies (Ns = 214 and 155), in which undergraduates were assessed for dissociation, stressful life events, and psychopathological symptoms. In both studies, internal distress predicted an elevation in dissociation when external stress was low but not when it was high. The effect of external stress on dissociation was moderated by baseline internal distress, albeit in an inconsistent manner. The findings suggest that the effects of internal and external pressures on dissociation are competing, and that elevated external stress derails the attempt to cope with internal distress using disso- ciative processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unique dream patterns are related to psychopathological distress in adults. In adolescence, this was investigated almost exclusively regarding nightmares. This longitudinal study examines developmental trajectories of various adolescent-reported dream patterns, and their associations with parent-reported psychopathology (internalization and externalization problems) in early adolescence. Ninety-four 10- to 11-year-old normally developing children completed a week of sleep, dreaming, and pubertal development assessments. Parents reported behavior problems. Assessments were repeated after 1 and 2 years. Reports of unusual dreams decreased over time, and dream recall decreased among girls. Internalizing symptoms longitudinally predicted an increase in dream recall and unusual dreams. Moreover, unusual dreams longitudinally predicted increased behavior problems (internalization and externalization). Assessing dream patterns during early adolescence may help early detection of covert psychopathological distress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between resilience and lucid dreams, which involves awareness of the experience of dreaming, was examined in 79 Israeli young adults. Psychological distress and lucid dreams 3 years prior to exposure to terrorism, and exposure levels and psychological distress 1 week following exposure, were assessed. Both indirect exposure through media and perceived stress predicted an increase in distress during the 3-year interval under low, but not high, levels of lucid dreams. Possible mechanisms are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

General sleep-related experiences (Watson, 2001), including special dream states such as elevated dream recall, nightmares, hypnagogic hallucinations, flying dreams, and waking dreams, have been shown to be associated with life stress and psychopathological distress (Soffer-Dudek & Shahar, 2009). In this study, we attempted to examine these associations within the context of terror-related stress. In the week following operation Oferet Yetzuka in Israel, ninety-one participants filled out questionnaires concerning sleep experiences, psychopatho- logical distress, and degree of exposure to terror. These participants were part of a larger study conducted three years earlier (Soffer-Dudek & Shahar, 2009). General sleep experiences (GSEs) were positively correlated to exposure to terror through media, a link that was mediated through psychopathological symptoms. Surprisingly, GSEs were negatively correlated with physical exposure variables. We suggest that GSEs may be related to a ruminative coping style (i.e., not "let- ting go," both by day and by night). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]