Dreams, problem-solving, and resilience in Chinese adults

Anecdotal stories about the effects of dreaming on problem-solving and resilience or the relationship between them have been reported throughout human history. Empirical research about dreaming has since confirmed that relationships between these constructs exist, although further research is needed. This study investigated correlations between dream variables (attitude toward dreams, dream intensity, dream quantity, dream vividness, and altered dream episodes) and problem-solving and resilience variables, as well as the prediction of problem-solving and resilience variables by dream variables. Data came from an online survey in Hong Kong answered by 233 young people of Chinese ethnicity (ages 16-38, M = 21.90, SD = 3.78), and included the Attitude Toward Dreams Scale, Dream Intensity Scale-Revised, Resilience Scale-14, and items measuring problem-solving. Data analyses included Pearson correlations, multiple regression, and mediation analyses. Dream vividness (sensory and emotional experiences in dreams) or altered dream episodes (dream lucidity) significantly and positively affect conscious problem-solving. In contrast, dream intensity (an aggregate magnitude of subjective dream experiences) and dream quantity (dream recall frequency concerning dream activities such as dream awareness, dream content, and nightmares) significantly and negatively affect resilience. Furthermore, dream variables must first act indirectly upon problem-solving for positive changes in resilience to occur. Although attitude toward dreams does not directly affect problem-solving or resilience, it has an indirect effect through dream intensity and its three dimensions (dream quantity, dream vividness, and altered dream episodes), which, in turn, indirectly effect either problem-solving or resilience. Importantly, these results indicate a direct effect of some dream variables on problem-solving and on resilience, and indicate the process or sequence of their indirect effects, although correlation does not necessarily imply causation, and possible explanations for these findings require investigation.