CONTINUITY AND CHANGE - THE DREAMS OF WOMEN THROUGHOUT ADULTHOOD

The objective of this study was to determine whether changes take plac e in the manifest content of women's dreams as a function of age and t he psychosocial changes that mark their waking lives. Forty-seven wome n from three age groups (26 to 35, 36 to 45, 46 to 56) kept a dream di ary and 87 of their dreams were content analyzed. Characters, settings , aggression, friendly interactions, activities, emotions, participati on of the dreamer in her dreams, autonomy, achievement striving, theme s and outcomes were the dream variables of interest as they were expec ted to be significant indicators of increasing adaptive competence, pr oductive energy, and masculinity orientation with advancing age. Resul ts provided strong support for the productive energy hypothesis and mi xed support for the adaptive competence one. The expected shift toward more male-typed imagery was not observed. Findings are discussed with in the theoretical framework of women's development throughout adultho od.