Investigating the relationship between the frequency and disturbance of nightmares with personality traits and demographic characteristics

Nightmares can cause general distress and sleep disturbances in the general population and negatively affect their subjective well-being. Knowing the predictors and etiology of recurring and distressing nightmares such as personality and demographic factors can help to understand and treat this disorder. The study population was undergraduate and graduate students of the Islamic Azad University, 300 of whom entered the study using a convenient sampling method. Participants responded to two items of the Mannheim Dream Questionnaire (Schredl, et. al., 2014) on the nightmare frequency and the nightmare distress, the Demographic Questionnaire, and the Neo Five-Factor Inventory (Costa, & McCrae, 1992). The Chi-square test and Kendall rank correlation coefficient were used to analyze the data. Findings indicated that the nightmare frequency has a significant positive correlation with neuroticism and a significant negative correlation with openness to experience. Undergraduate students reported more nightmares than graduate students. Age and gender were not associated with the frequency and distress of nightmares. We explained the findings of this study in the light of the threat simulation theory and Nielsen and Levin’s neurocognitive model. It is suggested that future researchers use clinical interviews to explore further into common features in the life history of people diagnosed with nightmare disorders.