Research Article
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Dream themes and rejection sensitivity of individuals with and without borderline personality disorder: a comparative study

Year 2024, Volume: 10 Issue: 1 - January 2024, 25 - 36, 04.01.2024
https://doi.org/10.18621/eurj.1357324

Abstract

Objectives: This study aims to determine how the dream themes of borderline personality disorder patients differ from those of without borderline personality disorder diagnosis and the mediating role of rejection sensitivity in this differentiation process.

Methods: The convenience sampling method was used in the study, and the participants were 79 female borderline patients diagnosed with semi-structured interviews with criteria of DSM-5 and 79 female individuals who had not received a psychological diagnosis before and at the study interviews. Sociodemographic Information Form, Dream Themes Scale, Borderline Personality Questionnaire, and Rejection Sensitivity Scale were used in the study. Linear Regression Analysis, Hierarchical Regression Analysis, and Independent Groups T-Test were used during the investigations.

Results: Borderline personality disorder patients scored higher in all sub-dimensions of the dream themes scale and rejection sensitivity scale than the control group. Borderline personality traits predicted rejection sensitivity. Borderline personality traits and rejection sensitivity together predicted dream themes. Borderline personality predicts anxiety dreams, fear dreams, and experience dreams, and rejection sensitivity mediates these predictive relationships.

Conclusions: The dreams of borderline personality disorder patients have negative content covered by the impact of experiences sub-dimension on dream themes, as they contain reflections of negative content in beliefs, thoughts and emotions related to their daily lives. Rejection sensitivity plays a mediator role in borderline patient’s dreams. The study results show that it would be beneficial not to ignore the content of dreams in patients with borderline personality disorder, considering the relationship of negative dreams with daily functioning, dissociative symptoms, self-harming behaviors, and suicide attempts. Results also indicate that it might be beneficial to target rejection sensitivity to reduce aggravating dream contents.

Ethical Statement

The study has been approved by the Istanbul Aydın University Ethics Committee (Date: 26.10.2021, No: 29020)

References

  • 1. Stamm D, Hardin DA. Dreaming and psychiatric disorders. In: Kushida CA. (ed.), The Encyclopedia of Sleep. Vol. 1, Waltham, MA: Academic Press. 2013: pp. 144-15.
  • 2. Freud S, 2019. Rüyaların Yorumu (Muradoğlu D-Çeviri) (5th ed.). Ankara: Say Yayınları; 2019.
  • 3. Hobson A, Kahn D. Dream content: Individual and generic aspects. Conscious Cogn. 2007;16(4):850-858. doi: 10.1016/j.concog.2007.07.010.
  • 4. Kramer M, Glucksman ML. (eds.), Dream Research: Contributions to Clinical Practice. 1st ed., New York, Routledge; 2015.
  • 5. Faraji H. [Evaluation of Determining Borderline Personality Disorder in Adolescence]. OPUS Uluslararası Toplum Araştırmaları Dergisi. 2021;18(43):7139-66. doi: 10.26466/opus.898571 [Article in Turkish].
  • 6. Kartal F, Uğur K, Mete B, Demirkol ME, Tamam L. The relationship between the oxytocin level and rejection sensitivity, childhood traumas, and attachment styles in borderline personality disorder. Psychiatry Investig. 2022;19(3):239-246. doi: 10.30773/pi.2021.0358.
  • 7. Downey G, Khouri H, Feldman SI. Early interpersonal trauma and later adjustment: The mediational role of rejection sensitivity. In: Cicchetti D, Toth SL. (eds.), Developmental perspectives on Trauma: Theory, Research, and Intervention, New York: University of Rochester Press; 1997: pp. 85-114.
  • 8. Barros K. Borderline personality disorder features, perceived social support, sleep disturbance, and rejection sensitivity. Arizona, Arizona State University ProQuest Dissertations Publishing; 2016.
  • 9. Semiz UB, Basoglu C, Ebrinc S, Cetin M. Nightmare disorder, dream anxiety, and subjective sleep quality in patients with borderline personality disorder. Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2008;62(1):48-55. doi: 10.1111/j.1440-1819.2007.01789.x.
  • 10. Jenkins CA, Thompson KN, Nicholas CL, Chanen AM. Sleep in Young People With Features of Borderline Personality Disorder: A Scoping Review. J Pers Disord. 2022;36(1):19-39. doi: 10.1521/pedi_2021_35_525.
  • 11. Lemyre A, Bastien C, Vallières A. Nightmares in mental disorders: a review. Dreaming. 2019;29(2):144-166. doi: 10.1037/drm0000103
  • 12. Alghamdi AA, Alafif NO, BaHammam AS, et al. Nightmares' pattern and predictors among a Saudi University students during COVID-19 Pandemic. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(3):1776. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19031776.
  • 13. Selby EA. Chronic sleep disturbances and borderline personality disorder symptoms. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2013;81(5):941-947. doi: 10.1037/a0033201.
  • 14. Faraji H, Güler K. Borderline personality traits and self handicapping. Int J Curr Res. 2021;13(6):17683-17689. doi: 10.24941/ijcr.41401.06.2021
  • 15. Bandel SL, Brausch AM. Poor sleep associates with recent nonsuicidal self-injury engagement in adolescents. Behav Sleep Med. 2020;18(1):81-90. doi: 10.1080/15402002.2018.1545652.
  • 16. Liu X, Liu ZZ, Chen RH, et al. Nightmares are associated with future suicide attempt and non-suicidal self-injury in adolescents. J Clin Psychiatry. 2019;80(4):18m12181. doi: 10.4088/JCP.18m12181.
  • 17. Giesbrecht T, Smeets T, Leppink J, Jelicic M, Merckelbach H. Acute dissociation after 1 night of sleep loss. J Abnorm Psychol. 2007;116(3):599-606. doi: 10.1037/0021-843X.116.3.599.
  • 18. Shenoy SK, Praharaj SK. Borderline personality disorder and its association with bipolar spectrum and binge eating disorder in college students from South India. Asian J Psychiatr. 2019;44:20-24. doi: 10.1016/j.ajp.2019.07.017.
  • 19. Poreh AM, Rawlings D, Claridge G, Freeman JL, Faulkner C, Shelton C. The BPQ: a scale for the assessment of borderline personality based on DSM-IV criteria. J Pers Disord. 2006;20(3):247-260. doi: 10.1521/pedi.2006.20.3.247.
  • 20. Ceylan V, Borderline Kişilik Ölçeği (Türkçe Bpq): Geçerlik, Güvenirliği, Faktör Yapısı, Hasan Kalyoncu Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü (Yayımlanmamış Yüksek Lisans Tezi); 2017.
  • 21. Downey G, Feldman SI. Implications of rejection sensitivity for intimate relationships. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1996;70(6):1327-1343. doi: 10.1037//0022-3514.70.6.1327.
  • 22. Özen A, Sümer N, Demir M. Predicting friendship quality with rejection sensitivity and attachment security. J Soc Pers Relat. 2011;28(2):163-181. doi: 10.1177/0265407510380607
  • 23. Genç A, Çelikel FÇ, Başol G. [Development, validity and reliability of the dream themes scale]. The Journal of Academic Social Science Studies. 2013;6:295-308. [Article in Turkish]
  • 24. Stone MH. Dreams of fragmentation and of the death of the dreamer: a manifestation of vulnerability to psychosis. Psychopharmacol Bull. 1979;15:12-4.
  • 25. Taubner S, Benecke C. [How do patients with borderline personality disorder dream?]. PTT: Persönlichkeitsstörungen Theorie und Therapie. 2009;13:151-67. [Article in German]
  • 26. Hartmann E, Russ D, van der Kolk B, Falke R, Oldfield M. A preliminary study of the personality of the nightmare sufferer: relationship to schizophrenia and creativity? Am J Psychiatry. 1981;138(6):794-797. doi: 10.1176/ajp.138.6.794.
  • 27. Hartmann E, Kunzendorf RG. Boundaries and dreams. Imagin Cogn Pers. 2006;26(1):101-115. doi: 10.2190/HK76-038K-407M-86.
  • 28. Yu CKC. Dream motif scale. Dreaming. 2012;22(1):18-52. doi: 10.1037/a0026171.
  • 29. Strimpfel JM, Macfie J, Elledge LC, Watson AJ. Childhood disruptions in caregiving, adult parental attachment, and borderline features in emerging adulthood: rejection sensitivity as a mechanism of ınfluence. J Cogn Psychother. 2022;36(2):129-145. doi: 10.1891/JCPSY-D-20-00047.
  • 30. Aumann C, Lahl O, Pietrowsky R. Relationship between dream structure, boundary structure and the big five personality dimensions. Dreaming 2012;22(2):124-135. doi: 10.1037/a0028977.
  • 31. Simor P, Csóka S, Bódizs R. Nightmares and bad dreams in patients with borderline personality disorder: fantasy as a coping skill? Eur J Psychiatr. 2010;24(1):28-37. doi: 10.4321/S0213-61632010000100004.
  • 32. Wegner DM. Ironic processes of mental control. Psychol Rev. 1994;101(1):34-52. doi: 10.1037/0033-295x.101.1.34.
  • 33.Pagano ME, Skodol AE, Stout RL, et al. Stressful life events as predictors of functioning: findings from the collaborative longitudinal personality disorders study. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 2004;110(6):421-429. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0447.2004.00398.x.
  • 34. Schredl M. Continuity between waking and dreaming: a proposal for mathematical model. Sleep Hypn. 2003;5:26-39.
  • 35. Schredl M, Paul F, Reinhard I, Ebner-Priemer UW, Schmahl C, Bohus M. Sleep and dreaming in patients with borderline personality disorder: a polysomnographic study. Psychiatry Res. 2012;200(2-3):430-436. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2012.04.036.
  • 36. Kramer M, Nuhic Z. Are view of dreaming by psychiatric patients: an update. In: Pandi S, Ruoti R, Kramer M, eds., Sleep and Psychosomatic Medicine. New York: Taylor and Francis; 2007: pp. 137-55.
  • 37. Levin R, Nielsen TA. Disturbed dreaming, posttraumatic stress disorder, and affect distress: a review and neurocognitive model. Psychol Bull. 2007;133(3):482-528. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.133.3.482.
  • 38. Pesant N, Zadra A. Dream content and psychological well-being: a longitudinal study of the continuity hypothesis. J Clin Psychol. 2006;62(1):111-211. doi: 10.1002/jclp.20212.
  • 39. Selby EA, Ribeiro JD, Jr. Joiner TE. What dreams may come: emotional cascades and nightmares in borderline personality disorder. Dreaming. 2013;23(2):126-144. doi: 10.1037/a0032208.
  • 40. Baer RA, Peters JR, Eisenlohr-Moul TA, Geiger PJ, Sauer SE. Emotion-related cognitive processes in borderline personality disorder: a review of the empirical literature. Clin Psychol Rev. 2012;32(5):359-369. doi: 10.1016/j.cpr.2012.03.002.
  • 41. El Ghamry R, Omar AN, Zaki N, Elshahawi H, Naoom D, Hashim R, et al. Profile of egyptian patients with borderline personality disorder with and without comorbidity. Egypt J Psychiatr. 2021;42:115-22.
  • 42. Türkçapar MH, Sargın AE. [Cognitive Behavioral Psychotherapies: History and Development]. Davranışçı Psikoterapi ve Araştırmalar Dergisi. 2012;1:7-14. [Article in Turkish]
  • 43. Solomonova E, Picard-Deland C, Rapoport I, et al. Stuck in a lockdown: dreams, bad dreams, nightmares, and their relationship to stress, depression and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic. PLoS One. 2021;16(11):e0259040. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0259040.
  • 44. Harty L, Duckworth R, Thompson A, Stuewig J, Tangney JP. Are inmates' subjective sleep problems associated with borderline personality, psychopathy, and antisocial personality independent of depression and substance dependence? J Forens Psychiatry Psychol. 2010;21(1):23-39. doi: 10.1080/14789940903194095.
  • 45. Pigeon W, Carr M, Mellman T. Dream content associated with the development of PTSD. Int J Dream Res. 2021;14(1):136-140. doi: 10.11588/ijodr.2021.1.75883.
  • 46. Ford JD, Courtois CA. Complex PTSD and borderline personality disorder. Borderline Personal Disord Emot Dysregul. 2021;8(1):16. doi: 10.1186/s40479-021-00155-9.
  • 47. Jowett S, Karatzias T, Shevlin M, Albert I. Differentiating symptom profiles of ICD-11 PTSD, complex PTSD, and borderline personality disorder: A latent class analysis in a multiply traumatized sample. Personal Disord. 2020;11(1):36-45. doi: 10.1037/per0000346.
Year 2024, Volume: 10 Issue: 1 - January 2024, 25 - 36, 04.01.2024
https://doi.org/10.18621/eurj.1357324

Abstract

References

  • 1. Stamm D, Hardin DA. Dreaming and psychiatric disorders. In: Kushida CA. (ed.), The Encyclopedia of Sleep. Vol. 1, Waltham, MA: Academic Press. 2013: pp. 144-15.
  • 2. Freud S, 2019. Rüyaların Yorumu (Muradoğlu D-Çeviri) (5th ed.). Ankara: Say Yayınları; 2019.
  • 3. Hobson A, Kahn D. Dream content: Individual and generic aspects. Conscious Cogn. 2007;16(4):850-858. doi: 10.1016/j.concog.2007.07.010.
  • 4. Kramer M, Glucksman ML. (eds.), Dream Research: Contributions to Clinical Practice. 1st ed., New York, Routledge; 2015.
  • 5. Faraji H. [Evaluation of Determining Borderline Personality Disorder in Adolescence]. OPUS Uluslararası Toplum Araştırmaları Dergisi. 2021;18(43):7139-66. doi: 10.26466/opus.898571 [Article in Turkish].
  • 6. Kartal F, Uğur K, Mete B, Demirkol ME, Tamam L. The relationship between the oxytocin level and rejection sensitivity, childhood traumas, and attachment styles in borderline personality disorder. Psychiatry Investig. 2022;19(3):239-246. doi: 10.30773/pi.2021.0358.
  • 7. Downey G, Khouri H, Feldman SI. Early interpersonal trauma and later adjustment: The mediational role of rejection sensitivity. In: Cicchetti D, Toth SL. (eds.), Developmental perspectives on Trauma: Theory, Research, and Intervention, New York: University of Rochester Press; 1997: pp. 85-114.
  • 8. Barros K. Borderline personality disorder features, perceived social support, sleep disturbance, and rejection sensitivity. Arizona, Arizona State University ProQuest Dissertations Publishing; 2016.
  • 9. Semiz UB, Basoglu C, Ebrinc S, Cetin M. Nightmare disorder, dream anxiety, and subjective sleep quality in patients with borderline personality disorder. Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2008;62(1):48-55. doi: 10.1111/j.1440-1819.2007.01789.x.
  • 10. Jenkins CA, Thompson KN, Nicholas CL, Chanen AM. Sleep in Young People With Features of Borderline Personality Disorder: A Scoping Review. J Pers Disord. 2022;36(1):19-39. doi: 10.1521/pedi_2021_35_525.
  • 11. Lemyre A, Bastien C, Vallières A. Nightmares in mental disorders: a review. Dreaming. 2019;29(2):144-166. doi: 10.1037/drm0000103
  • 12. Alghamdi AA, Alafif NO, BaHammam AS, et al. Nightmares' pattern and predictors among a Saudi University students during COVID-19 Pandemic. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(3):1776. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19031776.
  • 13. Selby EA. Chronic sleep disturbances and borderline personality disorder symptoms. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2013;81(5):941-947. doi: 10.1037/a0033201.
  • 14. Faraji H, Güler K. Borderline personality traits and self handicapping. Int J Curr Res. 2021;13(6):17683-17689. doi: 10.24941/ijcr.41401.06.2021
  • 15. Bandel SL, Brausch AM. Poor sleep associates with recent nonsuicidal self-injury engagement in adolescents. Behav Sleep Med. 2020;18(1):81-90. doi: 10.1080/15402002.2018.1545652.
  • 16. Liu X, Liu ZZ, Chen RH, et al. Nightmares are associated with future suicide attempt and non-suicidal self-injury in adolescents. J Clin Psychiatry. 2019;80(4):18m12181. doi: 10.4088/JCP.18m12181.
  • 17. Giesbrecht T, Smeets T, Leppink J, Jelicic M, Merckelbach H. Acute dissociation after 1 night of sleep loss. J Abnorm Psychol. 2007;116(3):599-606. doi: 10.1037/0021-843X.116.3.599.
  • 18. Shenoy SK, Praharaj SK. Borderline personality disorder and its association with bipolar spectrum and binge eating disorder in college students from South India. Asian J Psychiatr. 2019;44:20-24. doi: 10.1016/j.ajp.2019.07.017.
  • 19. Poreh AM, Rawlings D, Claridge G, Freeman JL, Faulkner C, Shelton C. The BPQ: a scale for the assessment of borderline personality based on DSM-IV criteria. J Pers Disord. 2006;20(3):247-260. doi: 10.1521/pedi.2006.20.3.247.
  • 20. Ceylan V, Borderline Kişilik Ölçeği (Türkçe Bpq): Geçerlik, Güvenirliği, Faktör Yapısı, Hasan Kalyoncu Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü (Yayımlanmamış Yüksek Lisans Tezi); 2017.
  • 21. Downey G, Feldman SI. Implications of rejection sensitivity for intimate relationships. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1996;70(6):1327-1343. doi: 10.1037//0022-3514.70.6.1327.
  • 22. Özen A, Sümer N, Demir M. Predicting friendship quality with rejection sensitivity and attachment security. J Soc Pers Relat. 2011;28(2):163-181. doi: 10.1177/0265407510380607
  • 23. Genç A, Çelikel FÇ, Başol G. [Development, validity and reliability of the dream themes scale]. The Journal of Academic Social Science Studies. 2013;6:295-308. [Article in Turkish]
  • 24. Stone MH. Dreams of fragmentation and of the death of the dreamer: a manifestation of vulnerability to psychosis. Psychopharmacol Bull. 1979;15:12-4.
  • 25. Taubner S, Benecke C. [How do patients with borderline personality disorder dream?]. PTT: Persönlichkeitsstörungen Theorie und Therapie. 2009;13:151-67. [Article in German]
  • 26. Hartmann E, Russ D, van der Kolk B, Falke R, Oldfield M. A preliminary study of the personality of the nightmare sufferer: relationship to schizophrenia and creativity? Am J Psychiatry. 1981;138(6):794-797. doi: 10.1176/ajp.138.6.794.
  • 27. Hartmann E, Kunzendorf RG. Boundaries and dreams. Imagin Cogn Pers. 2006;26(1):101-115. doi: 10.2190/HK76-038K-407M-86.
  • 28. Yu CKC. Dream motif scale. Dreaming. 2012;22(1):18-52. doi: 10.1037/a0026171.
  • 29. Strimpfel JM, Macfie J, Elledge LC, Watson AJ. Childhood disruptions in caregiving, adult parental attachment, and borderline features in emerging adulthood: rejection sensitivity as a mechanism of ınfluence. J Cogn Psychother. 2022;36(2):129-145. doi: 10.1891/JCPSY-D-20-00047.
  • 30. Aumann C, Lahl O, Pietrowsky R. Relationship between dream structure, boundary structure and the big five personality dimensions. Dreaming 2012;22(2):124-135. doi: 10.1037/a0028977.
  • 31. Simor P, Csóka S, Bódizs R. Nightmares and bad dreams in patients with borderline personality disorder: fantasy as a coping skill? Eur J Psychiatr. 2010;24(1):28-37. doi: 10.4321/S0213-61632010000100004.
  • 32. Wegner DM. Ironic processes of mental control. Psychol Rev. 1994;101(1):34-52. doi: 10.1037/0033-295x.101.1.34.
  • 33.Pagano ME, Skodol AE, Stout RL, et al. Stressful life events as predictors of functioning: findings from the collaborative longitudinal personality disorders study. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 2004;110(6):421-429. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0447.2004.00398.x.
  • 34. Schredl M. Continuity between waking and dreaming: a proposal for mathematical model. Sleep Hypn. 2003;5:26-39.
  • 35. Schredl M, Paul F, Reinhard I, Ebner-Priemer UW, Schmahl C, Bohus M. Sleep and dreaming in patients with borderline personality disorder: a polysomnographic study. Psychiatry Res. 2012;200(2-3):430-436. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2012.04.036.
  • 36. Kramer M, Nuhic Z. Are view of dreaming by psychiatric patients: an update. In: Pandi S, Ruoti R, Kramer M, eds., Sleep and Psychosomatic Medicine. New York: Taylor and Francis; 2007: pp. 137-55.
  • 37. Levin R, Nielsen TA. Disturbed dreaming, posttraumatic stress disorder, and affect distress: a review and neurocognitive model. Psychol Bull. 2007;133(3):482-528. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.133.3.482.
  • 38. Pesant N, Zadra A. Dream content and psychological well-being: a longitudinal study of the continuity hypothesis. J Clin Psychol. 2006;62(1):111-211. doi: 10.1002/jclp.20212.
  • 39. Selby EA, Ribeiro JD, Jr. Joiner TE. What dreams may come: emotional cascades and nightmares in borderline personality disorder. Dreaming. 2013;23(2):126-144. doi: 10.1037/a0032208.
  • 40. Baer RA, Peters JR, Eisenlohr-Moul TA, Geiger PJ, Sauer SE. Emotion-related cognitive processes in borderline personality disorder: a review of the empirical literature. Clin Psychol Rev. 2012;32(5):359-369. doi: 10.1016/j.cpr.2012.03.002.
  • 41. El Ghamry R, Omar AN, Zaki N, Elshahawi H, Naoom D, Hashim R, et al. Profile of egyptian patients with borderline personality disorder with and without comorbidity. Egypt J Psychiatr. 2021;42:115-22.
  • 42. Türkçapar MH, Sargın AE. [Cognitive Behavioral Psychotherapies: History and Development]. Davranışçı Psikoterapi ve Araştırmalar Dergisi. 2012;1:7-14. [Article in Turkish]
  • 43. Solomonova E, Picard-Deland C, Rapoport I, et al. Stuck in a lockdown: dreams, bad dreams, nightmares, and their relationship to stress, depression and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic. PLoS One. 2021;16(11):e0259040. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0259040.
  • 44. Harty L, Duckworth R, Thompson A, Stuewig J, Tangney JP. Are inmates' subjective sleep problems associated with borderline personality, psychopathy, and antisocial personality independent of depression and substance dependence? J Forens Psychiatry Psychol. 2010;21(1):23-39. doi: 10.1080/14789940903194095.
  • 45. Pigeon W, Carr M, Mellman T. Dream content associated with the development of PTSD. Int J Dream Res. 2021;14(1):136-140. doi: 10.11588/ijodr.2021.1.75883.
  • 46. Ford JD, Courtois CA. Complex PTSD and borderline personality disorder. Borderline Personal Disord Emot Dysregul. 2021;8(1):16. doi: 10.1186/s40479-021-00155-9.
  • 47. Jowett S, Karatzias T, Shevlin M, Albert I. Differentiating symptom profiles of ICD-11 PTSD, complex PTSD, and borderline personality disorder: A latent class analysis in a multiply traumatized sample. Personal Disord. 2020;11(1):36-45. doi: 10.1037/per0000346.
There are 47 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Psychiatry
Journal Section Original Articles
Authors

Haydeh Faraji 0000-0001-5306-6546

Early Pub Date October 26, 2023
Publication Date January 4, 2024
Submission Date September 8, 2023
Acceptance Date September 22, 2023
Published in Issue Year 2024 Volume: 10 Issue: 1 - January 2024

Cite

AMA Faraji H. Dream themes and rejection sensitivity of individuals with and without borderline personality disorder: a comparative study. Eur Res J. January 2024;10(1):25-36. doi:10.18621/eurj.1357324

e-ISSN: 2149-3189 


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