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Children’s separation anxiety and nightmare frequency, distress, and separation-related content

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Abstract

Repeated nightmares involving separation are a DSM-5 symptom criterion for separation anxiety disorder. However, research on nightmares and separation anxiety in clinical or non-clinical samples is scarce. To verify whether children’s separation anxiety predicted nightmares’ characteristics (frequency, distress and separation-related content), we conducted an online survey among 237 mothers of a 4- to 12-year-old child. Children’s separation anxiety as assessed by a modified version of the Separation Anxiety Symptoms Inventory predicted frequent nightmares and bad dreams, dreaming of the parents’ death (odds ratio [OR] = 2.65 [1.41, 4.98]) or of any separation theme (OR = 5.97 [2.64, 13.50]) during the last year, and dysphoric dream distress. The association between children’s separation anxiety and dysphoric dream distress was mediated by dysphoric dream frequency. Our findings suggest that dysphoric dream distress may be a better marker of separation anxiety compared with frequency. Future studies in clinical samples are needed to determine whether the DSM-5 nightmare symptom criterion should be reviewed to emphasize the occurrence of any type of dysphoric dreams (bad dreams and nightmares), the presence of distress in relation to these dreams, and their specific content.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Université de Sherbrooke, Campus de Longueuil, 150 place Charles-Le Moyne, Bureau 200, Longueuil, Québec, J4K 0A8, Canada

    Valérie Simard, Anne Sara Morin, Sabrina Godin, Laurie Boothman & Anne-Julie Lavoie

  2. Research Center of Sainte-Justine University Hospital, Montreal, Canada

    Valérie Simard

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  1. Valérie Simard
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  2. Anne Sara Morin
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Correspondence to Valérie Simard.

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Table 5 Items of the Dysphoric Dreams of Separation Questionnaire
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Simard, V., Morin, A.S., Godin, S. et al. Children’s separation anxiety and nightmare frequency, distress, and separation-related content. Curr Psychol 42, 9652–9664 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-02272-8

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