From falling apart to disturbing dreams: A preliminary examination of self-fragmentation and nightmares

Previous theory suggested a relationship between fragmentation of the self-structure and nightmares. This article examines this possibility by providing an overview of the theoretical rationale for their relationship and a preliminary empirical study exploring the relationships between a brief measure of fragmentation proneness, distress, and nightmares among 307 undergraduate students. The results indicated that fragmentation proneness and distress were both significantly related to nightmares. Fragmentation proneness, but not distress, accounted for significant independent variance in nightmares after accounting for age and gender. These results suggest that self-fragmentation may play a role in experiencing nightmares and potentially partly explain the relationship between distress and nightmares. The results and suggestions for future research are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)