Oneiric profiles and emotion dysregulation in youths: A latent profile analysis

The investigation of dream-related phenomena has driven different and controversial results, which have increased an interest in the literature in finding ways to capture the complexity of the dream experience in its relationship with conscience. Hence, the aim of the present study was to classify different dreaming patterns in young adults on the basis of the recurrence of some dream aspects (dream recall, nightmares, emotional intensity and tone, lucid dreams, and problem-solving dreams). Second, the study aims to test the association between these profiles and emotional dysregulation, gender, and differences among profiles regarding sleep disturbances, and the adverse aspects of daydreaming. Young adults, with a Mage = 23.35, participated in the present study. Latent profile analysis was used to identify dream patterns among young adults. Then, the dream patterns were associated with emotional dysregulation, gender, adverse aspects of daydreaming, nonrestorative sleep, and insomnia. A total of 315 dreamers were identified and organized into the following dreaming patterns: sweet dreaming (21.9%), systematic dreaming (47.7%), and overdreaming (30.4%). A higher emotional dysregulation was associated with overdreaming and systematic dreaming than sweet dreaming. In women, adverse aspects of daydreaming and nonrestorative sleep emerged as more characteristic of the overdreaming profile than the sweet-dreaming profile. The study’s cross-sectional design and sample size limited the evidence and the generalizability of the results. This study promotes an approach to the study of dreams based on an assessment of dream patterns in people as a broader index of mental functioning.