THE ROLE OF CULTURE, VIOLENCE, AND PERSONAL FACTORS AFFECTING DREAM CONTENT

Citation
Rl. Punamaki et M. Joustie, THE ROLE OF CULTURE, VIOLENCE, AND PERSONAL FACTORS AFFECTING DREAM CONTENT, Journal of cross-cultural psychology, 29(2), 1998, pp. 320-342
Citations number
49
Categorie Soggetti
Psychology, Social
ISSN journal
00220221
Volume
29
Issue
2
Year of publication
1998
Pages
320 - 342
Database
ISI
SICI code
0022-0221(1998)29:2<320:TROCVA>2.0.ZU;2-Q
Abstract
The impact of culture, violent environment, gender, and age on dream c ontent was studied among 205 children in three groups: a Palestinian g roup living in a violent environment (n = 80), and Palestinian (n = 45 ) and Finnish (n = 80) groups living in peaceful areas. They were matc hed for age (7-12) and gender. The method used was a 7-day dream diary in which the participants recorded the dreams they recalled every mor ning. Results showed that living in a violent environment affected dre am content more than did culture and personal factors. The results con firmed our hypothesis that a violent and dangerous environment was ass ociated with mundane, intensive, and vivid dreams incorporating persec ution and aggression themes. As an indication of individualistic versu s collective dream characteristics, results showed that the dreams of the Palestinian children from Gaza incorporated more ''external scenes '' of anxiety whereas the Finnish children's dreams had more ''inner a nxiety scenes.''