Abstract(s)
Studies on children’s recurrent dreams have been largely anecdotal and based on adults’
recollections of dreams experienced during childhood. We collected 102 reports of recurrent
dreams from a sample of young adolescents aged between 11 and 15 years and scored the
narratives using a range of content measures, including in relation to the threat simulation theory
(TST) of dreaming. The most frequently reported themes involved confrontations with monsters or
animals, followed by physical aggressions, falling and being chased. Recurrent dreams were more
likely to include negative content elements than positive elements. Only half of the recurrent
dreams contained threatening elements and their analysis provided mixed support for the TST.
Differences between the content of recurrent dreams reported by young adolescent versus adults
are discussed as are possible sex effects and key issues that remain to be addressed by future
research