Gan Y, Wang R, Li J, Wang X, Fan H. The Relationship between Nightmare Experience and Athletes' Personality Traits and Anxiety.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022;
19:12900. [PMID:
36232198 PMCID:
PMC9566163 DOI:
10.3390/ijerph191912900]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2022] [Revised: 10/02/2022] [Accepted: 10/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE
Frequent nightmare behavior or deep nightmare experiences may harm the physical and mental health and performance of athletes. This study explores the nightmare experiences of athletes, and includes non-athletes with similar experiences for comparison.
METHODS
The Nightmare Experience Questionnaire (NEQ); Zuckerman-Kuhlman-Aluja Personality Questionnaire, Shortened Form (ZKA-PQ/SF); and Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) were used. The subjects were 187 athletes (mean age = 20.44 years, SD = 0.85; 91 females, 96 males) and 90 non-athletes (mean age = 20.34 years, SD = 1.65; 52 females, 38 males) who reported having nightmares.
RESULTS
A total of 87 athletes (46.5%) reported having nightmare experiences. The athlete nightmare group scored significantly higher in neuroticism than the non-nightmare group, and their anxiety scores were significantly higher than those of non-athletes, who scored higher in aggressiveness, neuroticism, and sensation seeking. Moreover, anxiety, neuroticism, and sensation seeking positively predicted athletes' nightmare experiences.
CONCLUSIONS
Personality traits and anxiety levels can be effectively applied to predict athletes' nightmare experiences.
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