Search

Little is known about the internal mental experiences of individuals with ASD. While some research suggests a limited capacity for imagination, other studies show heightened interest in fantasy and unique forms of creative thinking in ASD. This study explored daydreaming experiences in adults with ASD, with a focus on immersive daydreaming and its relation to divergent thinking abilities. Individuals with and without a diagnosis of ASD were surveyed on their daydreaming habits and completed a divergent thinking task. Experiences of immersive daydreaming were identified in 42% of adults with ASD and were related to broad ASD traits in those without a diagnosis of ASD. However, ASD diagnosis was unrelated to originality of divergent thinking, which was negatively associated with immersive daydreaming. Moreover, daydreaming experiences in ASD were diverse. A more nuanced understanding of the mental experiences in ASD may assist in the development of interventions and support for this population.

Maladaptive daydreaming (MD) entails excessive immersion and engagement in complex fantasy worlds, causing distress and impairing functioning. Maladaptive Daydreamers often report that existing diagnostic labels are unhelpful for them. Previous studies reported high rates of comorbid attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among persons with MD, raising the question of their separateness. This study explored whether MD differs essentially from ADHD by examining an ADHD sample, hypothesizing a much lower incidence of MD.Adults diagnosed with ADHD (N = 83) were assessed for ADHD symptoms, MD, depression, loneliness, and self-esteem. Participants who exceeded the study's cutoff score for suspected MD were invited to participate in a structured diagnostic interview for MD.In accordance with the hypothesis, only 20.5% of the ADHD sample met the proposed diagnostic criteria for MD. Compared with ADHD-only participants, this subgroup presented increased depression, loneliness, and lowered self-esteem.MD has unique clinical characteristics that are distinct from ADHD. We suggest that in some cases presenting with ADHD symptoms, an MD conceptualization may better explain the clinical picture. Future research should aim at a better differentiation of daydreaming, ADHD, and related constructs such as mind-wandering.

Since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, almost all countries have employed varying degrees of lockdown measures to limit the spread of the infection. Previous studies showed that individuals with maladaptive daydreaming (MD) are affected negatively by the lockdown. In this study, we explored a set of lockdown measures (e.g., self-quarantine) and personal factors (e.g., education, history of depression, and personality traits) that might potentially exacerbate MD experienced during the lockdown period. We also examined whether perceived stress acted as a mediator in the relationship between these factors and MD. During the first lockdown from April to June, we analyzed data provided by 1083 individuals from the USA, the UK, Italy, and Turkey. A path analysis revealed that perceived stress mediated the effects on MD of self-quarantine, previous episodes of depression, low education level, and introversion and emotional instability. Our study suggests a conceptual framework for the factors that intensify maladaptive daydreaming under the threats of the pandemic and forced home confinement, offering implications for interventions with vulnerable populations.

Reality shifting (RS) is a trendy mental activity that emerged abruptly following the flare-up of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and seems to be practiced mainly by members of the post-millennial generation. RS, described as the experience of being able to transcend one’s physical confines and visit alternate, mostly fictional, universes, is discussed by many on Internet platforms. One RS forum boasts over 40,000 members and RS clips on some social media platforms have been viewed over 1.7 billion times. The experience of shifting is reportedly facilitated by specific induction methods involving relaxation, concentration of attention, and autosuggestion. Some practitioners report a strong sense of presence in their desired realities, reified by some who believe in the concrete reality of the alternate world they shift to. One of the most popular alternate universes involves environments adopted from the Harry Potter book and film series. We describe the phenomenology of RS as reported online and then compare it to related phenomena such as hypnosis, tulpamancy, dissociation, immersive and maladaptive daydreaming, and lucid dreaming. We propose a theoretical model of interactive factors giving rise to RS, and conclude that it is an important, uninvestigated emerging phenomenon and propose future research directions.

Maladaptive daydreaming is a proposed disorder characterized by excessive daydreaming that causes subjective distress and/or interferes with function. The daydreaming involves complex inner worlds, characters, and plots that are understood by the person as fantasy, and the daydreaming may occupy many hours per day. The disorder has good reliability and validity in studies using a structured interview and a self-report measure developed for it. To date, no information on the responses of maladaptive daydreamers to either recreational or prescription drugs has been available. The authors obtained survey data from 202 participants who completed the Maladaptive Daydreaming Scale-16. The results indicated that this population has tried many different recreational drugs and has been prescribed many different psychotropic medications. Most of the participants reported little to no effect of drugs or medications on daydreaming, although tentative recommendations can be made in favor of prescribing antidepressants and against the use of marijuana for individuals with maladaptive daydreaming.

Maladaptive daydreaming (MD) is an excessive and vivid fantasy activity that interferes with individual's normal functioning and can result in severe distress. Research has shown that MD is a clinical condition associated with a number of personal, interpersonal and behavioral problems. Therefore, a need exists to differentiate MD from other mental activities that involve an excessive or otherwise problematic use of fantasy. These include, among others, daydreaming, mind wandering, dissociative absorption, fantasy proneness, sluggish cognitive tempo, lucid dreaming, and autistic fantasy. In this article, we examine the commonalities and differences between MD and these mental activities, to promote a better understanding of the MD phenomena and their specificity, and to foster the quality of its assessment in clinical settings. A clinical case study is employed to elucidate our analysis and to demonstrate the differential diagnosis of MD.

Daydreaming is important for creativity and the understanding of our minds and those of others. However, some adults daydream to such an extreme degree that the behavior becomes disruptive; a condition known as maladaptive daydreaming (MD). We propose that highly immersive daydreaming is not always maladaptive, and immersive characteristics of daydreaming may benefit emotional regulation, empathy, and creativity. This study consisted of 542 participants from 56 countries recruited online from MD and other communities. Our results revealed that the maladaptive components of MD predicted higher affective empathy, poorer emotional regulation abilities, and reduced creative output. The immersive components of daydreaming predicted higher empathy for fantasy characters and poorer emotional regulation. These results suggest that the immersive and maladaptive components of MD have distinct behavioral correlates, but that any form of immersive daydreaming is not an effective emotional regulation strategy. Implications for the planning of effective treatment for MD are discussed.

This paper presents an inquiry of art products produced by 9 individuals with maladaptive daydreaming who provided pictorial and verbal descriptions of both their condition and themselves. We found that the perceived benefits of maladaptive daydreaming for our respondents included the ownership of a self-controlled means of emotional regulation that served as protection from grim external and internal realities combined with the gratifying joy of an easily accessible internal entertainment mechanism. Although such daydreaming was depicted as an intensely rewarding experience, there was also an allusion to diminished sense of control over the flow of fantasies. The self in the artwork of participants was often represented as a fragmented experience of duality: an inert, and an emotionally dismal, dreary and dysfunctional sense of existence in reality compared to an emotionally rich, lively and pleasurable experience associated with their gratifying states of consciousness. This schism was pictorially conveyed through: (1) graphic boundaries that demarcated the two distinct states of consciousness, (2) a richer palette of colors applied to represent the inner world and (3) thematically, an inner world represented as more busy and rewarding compared to a sense of emptiness or malfunction that emanates from representations of reality.

The main purpose of this paper was to examine whether patients recovering from substance use disorder (R-SUD) engage in an absorptive mental activity known as maladaptive daydreaming (MD). One hundred eighty Israeli Arab men participated in this study. Of them, 100 were R-SUD patients receiving care from a government agency and 80 constituted a non-clinical control sample. We found that individuals recovering from SUD are more likely to report a history of childhood trauma, particularly emotional neglect, as well as current dissociative experiences. Furthermore, we also provided evidence that compared to a matched control group; R-SUD patients tend more to engage in intense and immersive daydreaming that can reach pathological levels (MD). The study also showed that the relationship between traumatic emotional neglect and later dissociation is partially mediated by the propensity for extreme daydreaming. We argue that since the childhood adversities commonly characterize the histories of SUD patients, this group is at an increased risk, not only of trauma-related dissociative disorders but also of maladaptive daydreaming, a less known, distressful form of a dissociative absorption in fantasy.

Maladaptive Daydreaming (MD) is a newly proposed mental disorder characterized by excessive, vivid fantasy activity impairing functioning. There is a high comorbidity of MD with Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Symptoms (OCSS), yet the mechanisms responsible for this relationship are still unclear. The present study set out to explore the relationship between MD and OCSS by: (1) examining dissociation, trauma, sense of control, and mind-wandering as potential mediators; (2) exploring whether MD is more strongly related to obsessions or compulsions; and (3) identifying patterns of specific obsessions and/or compulsions common in an MD sample. A group of 510 participants with self-identified MD completed a battery of online questionnaires. Dissociation and sense of control significantly mediated the MD-OCSS association. MD was moderately related to both obsessions and compulsions but was significantly more strongly related to the former. Frequently endorsed obsessions and compulsions among MD participants included checking and repetition compulsions, intrusive obsessions, and body-related obsessions and compulsions. We conclude that dissociative mechanisms, including dissociative absorption, play a major role in the relationship between MD and OCSS and may lead to consequent checking when transitioning back to reality, altered embodiment, intrusive images, and thoughts, and an impaired sense of mental control. Clinicians working with OCSS should be aware of the possible role of MD in the development or maintenance of symptoms. Future work should develop useful interventions for this type of shared psychopathology.

Background and aimsMaladaptive Daydreaming (MD) is a proposed mental disorder, in which absorption in rich, narrative fantasy becomes addictive and compulsive, resulting in emotional, social, vocational, or academic dysfunction. Most studies on MD were carried out on aggregated international samples, using translated versions of the Maladaptive Daydreaming Scale (MDS-16). However, it is unknown whether the properties of MD are affected by culture. Thus, we investigated the cross-cultural measurement invariance of the MDS-16.MethodsWe recruited both individuals self-identified as suffering from MD and non-clinical community participants from four countries: the USA, Italy, Turkey, and the UK (N = 1,081).ResultsConfigural invariance was shown, suggesting that the hypothesized four-factor structure of the MDS-16 (including Yearning, Impairment, Kinesthesia, and Music) holds across cultures. Metric invariance was shown for Impairment, Kinesthesia, and Music, but not for Yearning, suggesting that the psychological meaning of the latter factor may be understood differently across cultures. Scalar invariance was not found, as MD levels were higher in the USA and UK, probably due to the over-representation of English-speaking members of MD communities, who volunteered for the study.Discussion and conclusionsWe conclude that the urge to be absorbed in daydreaming and the fantasies’ comforting and addictive properties may have different meanings across countries, but the interference of MD to one’s daily life and its obstruction of long-term goals may be the central defining factor of MD.

The objective of this article is to identify the role of opioid use among survivors of trauma and to characterize the dissociative functions associated with this class of substances. More precisely, this paper will evaluate if the biochemical impact of opioid substances, such as heroin, has particular psychological effects on traumatized users, pertinent to their emotional needs. Reviewed studies demonstrated not only that the vast majority of opioid use disorder (OUD) patients reported a history of childhood trauma but that dissociation played an important role in both the experience of opioid use and abstinence. Traumatized individuals were more likely to report dissociative experiences during their opioid use (chemical dissociation) and were more likely to report dissociative experiences during abstinence. The small body of literature on the inter-relationship between opioid use disorder (OUD) and dissociation suggests that heroin produces powerful sensations that mimic psychogenic dissociation. It might therefore be employed when posttraumatic distress can no longer be regulated by psychogenic mechanisms and when it is available. Future research should explore if OUD treatment can be more efficient following effective resolution of trauma-related dissociation and underlying posttraumatic psychopathology.

In this study, we analyzed the responses of 539 adults who met an evidence-based criterion of probable maladaptive daydreaming (MD) and met the description of at least one of the following personality facets: grandiosity, separation insecurity, and anhedonia. Respondents reporting grandiosity tended to use their fantasies as a means for wish-fulfillment for power and dominance, while respondents characterized by separation insecurity fantasized more about relationships with others. Their fantasies often featured an idealized relationship, sometimes of love, or an idealized version of their own family. Separation-anxious individuals reported fantasies in which they received extra attention on account of illness, vulnerability, or neediness. Respondents who reported characteristics of anhedonia were more likely to use daydreaming as a distraction from an unpleasant reality and gravitated to fantasies experienced as rewarding. The daydreams of respondents with anhedonia tended to feature themes of escape and physical violence. Our data show that particular personality facets can uniquely distinguish the functions and contents of fantasies in MD. Our findings suggest that maladaptive daydreaming may have a compensatory role in regulating unmet personal needs.

One hundred inpatients in a hospital-based Trauma Program in the USA were interviewed with the Dissociative Trance Disorder Interview Schedule (DTDIS). There were no significant differences for the DTDIS total score or any of the subscale scores on test-retest: all t-values comparing the two administrations of the DTDIS were below 0.7, and all p-values were above 0.5. Cronbach's alpha for the US sample was 0.966 and for the Israeli sample it was 0.971. The findings indicate that the DTDIS has good reliability and may be suitable for use in cross-cultural research; however, the results require replication by independent researchers in a variety of cultures and languages, and in both clinical and nonclinical samples.

© Copyright © 2020 Somer, Abu-Rayya, Schimmenti, Metin, Brenner, Ferrante, Göçmen and Marino. The COVID-19 pandemic has been spreading globally since December 2019, bringing with it anxieties, mortal risk, and agonizing psychological suffering. This study aimed to explore the relationship between maladaptive daydreaming (MD)—an addictive mental behavior to vivid fantasy associated with distress and functional impairment—and forced COVID-19 pandemic-related self-isolation and quarantine. Previous literature indicated that individuals employ MD for the regulation of distress and boredom, wish fulfillment, and entertainment experiences. The literature on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health identifies a flareup in psychological difficulties in the general population. In this study we explored the associations between the pandemic threat and mental health indices among individuals with MD. We surveyed 1,565 adults from over 70 countries who responded to calls for participants posted in online MD communities and other general social media sites. Probable MD was determined based on an empirically derived cut-off score on a pertinent measure. After controlling for sociodemographic variables, a series of MANCOVAs, followed by post-hoc ANCOVAs, revealed that individuals with probable MD who were observing lockdown restrictions reported having spent more time in fantasy, experienced more intense and vivid daydreaming, and had a stronger urge to daydream than other participants. Similar statistical procedures indicated that, individuals with probable MD who reported pre-existing anxiety and depression disorders described a greater urge to daydream due to the pandemic and greater difficulty to control this addictive behavior. Compared to individuals with likely normal daydreaming, individuals with suspected MD reported more pandemic-attributed deterioration on a wide array of psychological distress indices. Our data show that the current worldwide pandemic threat is connected with an elevated intensity of this addictive form of mental activity, and that MD is associated with the exacerbation of psychological distress and dysfunction rather than with beneficial regulation of the experienced stressor.

This study explored the network structure of Maladaptive Daydreaming (MD), and links between MD and emotional regulation difficulties. Participants (n = 542) completed an online survey on MD and emotional regulation difficulties. Two network models were estimated. In the MD-only network, items clustered in three communities, most items were positively connected, and difficulty controlling the daydream was most central. In the expanded network, there were many cross-construct associations, and limited emotional regulation strategies and difficulty controlling the daydream were most central. These findings indicate that difficulties with control is central to MD, and that MD may be related to dysfunctional emotional regulation.

Cross-sectional and experimental research have shown that task-unrelated thoughts (i.e., mind wandering) relate to sleep disturbances, but there is little research on whether this association generalizes to the day-level and other kinds of task-unrelated mentation. We employed a longitudinal daily diary design to examine the within-person and between-person associations between three self-report instruments measuring mind wandering, maladaptive daydreaming (a condition characterized by having elaborate fantasy daydreams so insistent that they interfere with daily functioning) and sleep disturbances. A final sample of 126 participants self-identified as experiencing maladaptive daydreaming completed up to 8 consecutive daily reports (in total 869 daily observations). The scales showed acceptable-to-excellent within-person reliability (i.e., systematic day-to-day change) and excellent between-person reliability. The proportion of between-person variance was 36% for sleep disturbances, 57% for mind wandering, and 75% for maladaptive daydreaming, respectively (the remaining being stochastic and systematic within-person variance). Contrary to our pre-registered hypothesis, maladaptive daydreaming did not significantly predict sleep disturbances the following night, B = -0.00 (SE = 0.04), p = .956. Exploratory analyses indicated that while nightly sleep disturbances predicted mind wandering the following day, B = 0.20 (SE = 0.04), p < .001, it did not significantly predict maladaptive daydreaming the following day, B = -0.04 (SE = 0.05), p = .452. Moreover, daily mind wandering did not significantly predict sleep disturbances the following night, B = 0.02 (SE = 0.05), p = .731. All variables correlated at the between-person level. We discuss the implications concerning the differences between maladaptive daydreaming and mind wandering and the possibility of targeting sleep for mind wandering interventions.

Purpose While the 1948 Nakba represents the most significant crisis in the history of the Palestinian people, its psychological effects on its survivors in Israel have yet to be explored. The purpose of this paper is to examine the subjective experience and the psychological implications of the Nakba ordeals and the ensuing uprooting among the internally displaced Palestinians living in Israel. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with ten internally displaced Palestinians who experienced the Nakba as youngsters. The interview transcripts were analyzed thematically in line with accepted practice in phenomenological research in psychology. Findings Participants had experienced a wide range of traumatic events intertwined with protracted daily struggles and accumulated losses. These experiences resulted in pronounced psychological distress and immense inner pain that was perpetuated throughout their lives, rendering the Nakba an unresolved traumatic experience. Research limitations/implications This paper describes the psychological outcome of the Nakba among a small sample of elderly survivors. Further urgent research is needed to collect valuable untapped information from this aging and dwindling community. Originality/value Although more than six decades have elapsed since the tragic events, the current research paper constitutes a pioneering effort to document the subjective experience of the Nakba. The current research findings counterbalance 60 years of public and academic disregard of this tragic period.

This qualitative study describes the lived experience of maladaptive daydreaming (MD), an excessive form of unwanted daydreaming that produces a rewarding experience based on a created fantasy of a parallel reality associated with a profound sense of presence. A total of 21 in-depth interviews with persons who self-identified as struggling with MD were analyzed utilizing a phenomenological approach. Interviewees described how their natural capacity for vivid daydreaming had developed into a time-consuming habit that resulted in serious dysfunction. The phenomenology of MD was typified by complex fantasized mental scenarios that were often laced with emotionally compensatory themes involving competency, social recognition, and support. MD could be activated if several requirements were met. Because social interaction seems to be incompatible with this absorbing mental activity, solitude was necessary. In addition, kinesthetic activity and/or exposure to evocative music also appeared to be essential features. Besides delivering a firsthand description of key characteristics of MD, the study also indicates that MD is associated with dysfunctionality for which participants expressed a substantial need for help.

This study illuminates legitimization efforts in the discourse of individuals who suffer from excessive, uncontrolled daydreaming: a contested mental condition that has not yet been recognized by the medical establishment. It aims to explore the rhetorical maneuvers employed by these “Maladaptive Daydreamers” in 35 email exchanges with the second author and two petitions, submitted to the American Psychiatric Association and to the UK Parliament, with a demand for recognition. Our analysis, anchored theoretically and methodologically in Critical Discourse Analysis, identified several verbal strategies employed by the participants to persuade their interlocutors about the realness of their suffering. The main strategies were clustered into three dimensions: (1) professional—appealing to the audience’s professional identity as scientist-practitioner and presenting shared knowledge; (2) social—forming a joint consensus group, a coalition or a partnership; (3) psychological—appealing to the interlocutor’s emotions through gratitude, self-disclosure or humor. This bottom-up analysis, positions individuals’ claims as a starting point for knowledge-dissemination and institutional change and blurs the modern dichotomy between the objects and subjects of medical gaze.

The current study assessed the incidence and associated features of posttraumatic stress after the experience of panic. One hundred seventy-eight participants meeting diagnostic criteria for panic attacks (PAs) were assessed using standardized measures of posttraumatic symptoms and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in specific reference to their experience of panic. Sixty-three (35.4%) participants scored above the cutoff for PTSD in reference to the worst PA they had experienced. Adjusted means for the four PTSD symptom clusters indicate that panic-related posttraumatic symptoms are, on average, experienced "moderately" to "quite a bit." Panic-related posttraumatic symptoms and PTSD were best predicted by specific features of the panic experience itself, including subjective levels of distress, fear of losing control, chest pain, agoraphobia, and number of PAs experienced. These findings are discussed in terms of the diagnostic, prognostic, and treatment implications for a subset of individuals presenting with panic who may also have panic-related PTSD.

This study describes the development of the Maladaptive Daydreaming Scale (MDS), a 14-item self-report instrument designed to gauge abnormal fantasizing. Our sample consisted of 447 English-speaking individuals from 45 different countries. A 3-correlated-factors model best presented the underlying dimensions Yearning, Kinesthesia and Impairment, capturing related rewarding experiences as well as psychological impairment of maladaptive daydreaming. MDS scores were associated with obsessive-compulsive behavior and thoughts, dissociative absorption, attention deficit, and high sense of presence during daydreaming, but less with psychotic symptoms. The MDS and its subscale demonstrated good validity, sound internal consistency and temporal stability and discriminated well between self-identified individuals with and without maladaptive daydreaming. Considering the instrument's high sensitivity and specificity levels, it seems an excellent measure for future investigation of MD that will, hopefully, shed light on the etiology and psycho-biological mechanisms involved in this mental condition, as well as on the development of effective MD treatment methods.

The purpose of this research was to promote an emic understanding of the dynamics that led a group of second-generation German ‘Aryans' to tie their fate to that of the people targeted and persecuted by their parents’ generation. We interviewed 15 non-Jewish German men and women who are permanent residents or citizens of Israel and who were born in 1929 or later to parents born in 1921 or earlier. Qualitative data analysis revealed that our interviewees depicted the intergenerational transmission of the parental experience of victimhood. Our respondents, colored by their love for their parents, accepted their parents’ narratives in which they depict themselves as bystanders or passive, subjugated accomplices of the Nazi regime. However, for most of our respondents, living with that inherited national identity had become a torturous burden. Many of our respondents had arrived in Israel with a humble and apprehensive interest in the survivors of their nation's crimes. Most of them seemed to believe that the...

To determine the comorbidity profile of individuals meeting criteria for a proposed new disorder, daydreaming disorder (more commonly known as maladaptive daydreaming [MD]), the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Dissociative Disorders were administered to 39 participants who met criteria for MD on a structured interview. We determined high rates of comorbidity: 74.4% met criteria for more than three additional disorders, and 41.1% met criteria for more than four. The most frequent comorbid disorder was attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (76.9%); 71.8% met criteria for an anxiety disorder, 66.7% for a depressive disorder, and 53.9% for an obsessive-compulsive or related disorder. Notably, 28.2% have attempted suicide. Individuals meeting criteria for MD have complex psychiatric problems spanning a range of DSM-5 disorders. This finding provides evidence that MD is different than normal daydreaming and that these individuals experience considerable distress and impairment.

This study examined the association between exposure to domestic violence and dissociative symptoms. A sample of 68 Israeli opiate use disorder patients in recovery, 80 battered Arab Israeli women, and 103 respondents from a community sample participated in structured interviews that included the Dissociative Disorders Interview Schedule (DDIS), the Dissociative Trance Disorder Interview Schedule (DTDIS), and the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES). As predicted, community participants reported significantly less exposure to traumatizing events and lower levels of dissociative psychopathology than individuals sampled from specialized treatment centers. In all, 91% of battered female participants were taxon-positive for dissociative disorder with 1 of every 2 respondents reporting symptoms corresponding to dissociative amnesia and depersonalization disorder, suggesting that this group may be particularly vulnerable to dissociative psychopathology. Extrasensory and paranormal experiences (ESP) and dissociative trance disorder experiences were strongly related to dissociative experiences and features of dissociative identity disorder (DID). These statistical associations suggest that dissociative disorders and ESP/trance experiences may share an underlying construct. Further research is needed on trauma and dissociation among female victims of domestic abuse in patriarchal, collectivist societies, particularly in the Arab world.

This study investigated the way in which exposure to traumatic stress, posttraumatic reactions, and materialistic values impact coping and maladaptive consumption behaviors in a real-life traumatic situation. One hundred thirty-nine Israelis were sampled from a town under constant rocket fire (a high-stress environment), and 187 comparison respondents were sampled from a low-stress location. Our data show a main effect for materialism for all of the distress and maladaptive consumer behaviors under study, as well as for most coping behaviors with the exception of interpersonal expressive coping. In the high-stress group, interpersonal expressive coping, reflecting an inclination to utilize social support, was highest among mildly materialistic individuals. Highly materialistic persons were, presumably, more oriented to objects than humans, rendering a more support-seeking way of coping less relevant for them. Highly materialistic participants in the high-stress group reported the highest levels of posttra...

Our research explores the amplifying effect of materialism on the experience of traumatic stress and maladaptive consumption via both an Israeli field study and a U.S. national survey. Our field study assesses the moderating impact of materialism upon both traumatic stress and maladaptive consumption among participants from an Israeli town under terrorist attack vs. participants from an Israeli town not exposed to hostilities. Our survey examines the possible underlying processes behind these effects among a nationally representative sample of Americans. The Israeli study reveals that, when faced with a mortal threat such as a terrorist attack, highly materialistic individuals report higher levels of post-traumatic stress, compulsive consumption, and impulsive buying than their less materialistic counterparts. Our U.S. study suggests that these effects are likely due to the fact that materialistic individuals exhibit lower levels of self-esteem, which reduces their ability to cope with traumatic events. Thus, our results indicate that, in addition to its well-documented harmful direct effect on psychological well-being, materialism also exerts an indirect negative effect by making bad events even worse.

This study explored the fantasy activity of 16 individuals who were seeking online peer-support and advice for maladaptive daydreaming (MD). MD is an under-researched mental activity described as persistent vivid fantasy activity that replaces human interaction and/or interferes with important areas of functioning. We employed a grounded theory methodology that yielded seven common themes presented as a sequential descriptive narrative about the nature, precursors, and consequences of MD. The presented "storyline" included the following themes: (1) daydreaming as an innate talent for vivid fantasy; (2) daydreaming and social isolation-a two-way street; (3) the role of trauma in the development of MD; (4) the rewards of daydreaming; (5) the insatiable yearning for daydreaming; (6) shame and concealment; (7) unsuccessful treatment attempts. A main conclusion of our study is that there is an urgent need for early identification of MD and its correct diagnoses in adulthood.

Previous studies on survivors of childhood trauma documented associations between psychological dysregulation, impulsivity, and both behavioral and emotional manifestations of distress. Yet, the mechanism that links these variables remains unclear. The current study aims to examine the pattern of relations between a history of child abuse, impulsivity and dissociation. More specifically, it examines whether impulsivity serves as a moderator or mediator in the association between childhood trauma and dissociation. Eighty-one inpatients from the acute wards of two psychiatric hospitals participated in this study. Data were collected by clinician-administered questionnaires. A highly significant linear hierarchical regression analysis revealed that both psychiatric comorbidity and childhood trauma made unique contributions to the variance of dissociation. Yet, the significant association between childhood trauma and dissociation decreased when impulsivity was entered into the regression model. Our findings suggest that impulsivity mediates the association between childhood trauma and dissociative psychopathology and imply that the identification and treatment of impulsivity could be a potentially valuable clinical target in individuals with dissociative disorders.

This study investigated the influence of the belief in reincarnation (BR) and in the power of fate (BPF) as potential coping resources in the shadow of loss and bereavement. Ninety bereaved parents, Jews and Druze (a sect that diverged from Islam in the 11th century), whose sons were killed in military action participated in this study. Druze respondents endorsed a belief in reincarnation more strongly than Jews. Druze were also far more fatalistic than their Jewish counterparts and expressed a stronger belief in the power of fate. More Jews than Druze expressed difficulties accepting their son's death and believing he was gone. Druze parents reported experiencing significantly less helplessness, guilt, and anger compared to Jewish controls. The value of enhanced cultural awareness during psychotherapy in a rapidly changing, multicultural world is discussed.