Order from us for quality, customized work in due time of your choice.
Gender Differences in the Dream Content of Children and Adolescents
Most people have dreams that relate to their real-life and waking experiences, and they are most often a regular part of a persons sleeping process. However, the gender of people and their age in different ways affect the perception of various experiences, which should also be reflected in dreams. For this reason, Schredl et al., in their article Gender differences in the dream content of children and adolescents, study the dreams of children of different genders and compare them with previous findings from similar studies for adults.
This study aims to qualitatively study the content of dreams and their relationship with the gender of children. However, the authors also pay considerable attention to comparing the results with the findings of similar studies in which the respondents were adults. For this reason, the first part of the research by Schredl et al. (2019) is devoted to the study of previous findings and the links between gender and dream content. For example, the authors note that mens dreams more often have aggression, while womens dreams show an indoor setting (Schredl et al., 2019). At the same time, the main theory used by the authors is the continuity hypothesis of dreaming, which suggests that the content of dreams is related to the walking experience. In addition, Schredl et al. (2019) cite several studies that have also examined childrens dream content by gender but highlight the small sample size. Consequently, these facts demonstrate the need for new research with a larger sample aimed at children and adolescents.
The primary method for collecting and analyzing data is the use of a questionnaire. Schredl et al. (2019) recruited participants between 6 and 18 years old who visited libraries in the United Kingdom and analyzed 1,995 dreams. In the questionnaire, the children described their recent dream in detail, indicating what and how they happened and who were the participants in the dreams. The frequency of dreams was also determined by analyzing questionnaires; however, this indicator was not key.
Nevertheless, the results of the study demonstrated that the findings are broadly consistent with studies of adult dreams. Girls more frequently than boys have dreams and remember them in more detail, and also see an indoor setting in their dreams (Schredl et al., 2019). Simultaneously, although the indicators of aggression in dreams of children were 2-3 times higher than in adults, boys and men had a higher rate of aggression than girls. Another finding is also that boys and girls have almost the same number of male dream characters and also more often see men in their dreams as aggressors (Schredl et al., 2019). Therefore, overall, the findings demonstrate the same results as studies by other authors regarding adult and childrens dreams content.
The authors also identify research gaps and directions for future research. First, Schredl et al. (2019) note that the long time interval between dreams and their description in the questionnaire could affect its accuracy, and young children could fantasize about details for this reason. Second, the authors emphasized the need to trace the connection between the experience of waking life and images in dreams. For example, future research can determine whether high levels of aggression in dreams are related to video games or media content that children consume. Therefore, although the authors have confirmed their hypotheses, the impact of real-life experiences on childrens dreams needs to be studied.
Reference
Schredl, M., Struck, V.S., Schwert, C., Blei, B., Henley-Einion, J., & Blagrove, B. (2019). Gender differences in the dream content of children and adolescents: The UK library study. The American Journal of Psychology, 132(3), 315-324. Web.
Order from us for quality, customized work in due time of your choice.