Attachment, defense mechanisms and early maladaptive schemas in dreams

Introduction

Dream activity has been associated with individuals’ characteristics, such as attachment and emotional processing (Levin & Nielsen, 2009; McNamara et al., 2014). Relational schemas are frequent in dreams and could express early maladaptive schemas (EMS; Young et al., 2003). Sparse empirical studies suggest that attachment insecurity may be associated to dreams’ content, but none links attachment to EMS nor explore defense mechanisms as an index of affect regulation.

Objective

The goal of this study was to contrast profiles of early maladaptive schemas (EMS) in different dream types (recent, recurring, and disturbing) and to explore their associations to attachment and primitive defenses.

Method

An online questionnaire was completed by 217 participants in which dream narratives were collected. Participants also completed questionnaires to assess attachment insecurity and defenses maturity. Two judges coded narratives by using the Schema-Related Dream Coding System.

Results

Profile analyses revealed more frequent EMS in recurring and disturbing dreams, independently of attachment insecurities. Multiple regression analyses indicated that insecure attachment and primitive defenses are both associated with vulnerable representations in disturbing dreams.

Conclusion

Relational representations differ according to dream types. Moreover, those EMS are associated with core dimensions of psychological functioning. This study suggests ways to understand vulnerability representations expressed in dreams of individuals presenting relational and emotional difficulties.