Predictive Value of the Dreams of Canadian Soldiers

The current study investigates what soldiers dream about (dream content), what they learn about waking life from their dreams (discovery), and the relationships among these variables. Previous research has found soldiers had more dream imagery relating to war and their experiences overseas compared with civilians. As predicted with the continuity hypothesis, specific dream content reflected their waking-day activities. The current study expands on this research, examining the predictive value of their dream content for their waking-day discovery. Twenty-five combat arms soldiers with operational experience in Afghanistan (M = 30.32, SD = 5.12) completed The Storytelling Method worksheet. Dreams were scored using Hall and Van de Castle guidelines for scoring imagery. As expected, soldiers had dream imagery relating to war, which was associated with learning about aggressive behavior, death, comrades, and the enemy in waking day. New to the research is the predictive value of the soldiers' dreams and their discovery. Specific dream imagery that predicted learning about aggressive behavior, death, and relationships with comrades in soldiers' discovery is discussed. Limitations and directions for future research with soldiers are also reviewed.