1998/03/01 by Raija‐Leena Punamäki, Raija-Leena Punamaki, Marja Joustie · 1 citation
Neuroscience · Psychology · #Sleep and Wakefulness Research #Sleep and related disorders
paper · doi:10.1177/0022022198292004
The impact of culture, violent environment, gender, and age on dream content was studied among 205 children in three groups: a Palestinian group living in a violent environment (n = 80), and Palestinian (n = 45) and Finnish (n = 80) groups living in peaceful areas. They were matched for age (7-12) and gender. The method used was a 7-day dream diary in which the participants recorded the dreams they recalled every morning. Results showed that living in a violent environment affected dream content more than did culture and personal factors. The results confirmed our hypothesis that a violent and dangerous environment was associated with mundane, intensive, and vivid dreams incorporating persecution and aggression themes. As an indication of individualistic versus collective dream characteristics, results showed that the dreams of the Palestinian children from Gaza incorporated more "external scenes" of anxiety, whereas the Finnish children's dreams had more "inner anxiety scenes."