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. 2025 Feb 25;20(2):e0318661.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0318661. eCollection 2025.

Nightmare distress mediated the correlation between autobiographical memory specificity and depression

Jiaxi Wang  1 , Haote Fu  2 , Xiaoling Feng  3 , Heyong Shen  3
Affiliations

Nightmare distress mediated the correlation between autobiographical memory specificity and depression

Jiaxi Wang et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

In this study, we explored whether nightmare distress mediated the correlation between autobiographical memory specificity and depression. 112 participants provided their most recent dreams that happened within one month, and finished some scales that measured depression, autobiographical memory specificity, and nightmare distress. In line with our hypothesis, nightmare distress was the mediator that played a role in the relationship between autobiographical memory specificity and depression. In addition, we found that both nightmare distress and autobiographical memory specificity were correlated with the impact of a dream on one's life story. By contrast, contrary to our hypothesis, we did not find any correlation between autobiographical memory specificity, or nightmare distress, and dream bizarreness. Potential implications from these results were discussed.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. The mediating model of the mediating effect.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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