SUSTAINING FANTASIES, DAYDREAMS, AND PSYCHOPATHOLOGY

This study compared daydreaming to fantasies used for self-comfort at times of stress in order to assess the degree of overlap in content be tween the two types of fantasy and to determine what types of daydream s are associated with indices of psychopathology. One hundred nineteen college undergraduates completed the Sustaining Fantasy Questionnaire (Zelin et al., 1983) and the Imaginal Processes Inventory (Singer & A ntrobus, 1972), along with five general measures of maladjustment, whi ch reflect ideational deviance, low or unstable self-concept, and reli ance upon regressive defenses. The results supported the hypotheses of considerable overlap in content and of parallels between the two type s of fantasy. Three IPI scales - Fear Reaction, Bizarre, and Hostile-w ere observed to be particularly linked to psychopathology.