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Maladaptive daydreaming: Evidence for an under-researched mental health disorder.
Journal article

Maladaptive daydreaming: Evidence for an under-researched mental health disorder.

  • Bigelsen J New York, USA. Electronic address: jaynebigelsen@gmail.com.
  • Lehrfeld JM Fordham University, New York, NY, USA.
  • Jopp DS University of Lausanne, and National Centre of Competence in Research LIVES "Overcoming Vulnerability: Live Course Perspectives", Switzerland.
  • Somer E School of Social Work, University of Haifa, Israel.
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  • 2016-04-16
Published in:
  • Consciousness and cognition. - 2016
Absorption
Compulsive fantasy
Fantasy prone person
Kinesthetic activity
Maladaptive daydreaming
Stereotypic movement
Visual cognition
Adaptation, Psychological
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity
Dissociative Disorders
Fantasy
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Young Adult
English This study explores the recently described phenomenon of Maladaptive Daydreaming (MD) and attempts to enhance the understanding of its features. It documents the experiences of 340 self-identified maladaptive daydreamers who spend excessive amounts of time engaged in mental fantasy worlds, in comparison to 107 controls. Our sample included a total of 447 individuals, aged 13-78, from 45 countries who responded to online announcements. Participants answered quantitative and qualitative questions about their daydreaming habits and completed seven questionnaires assessing mental health symptoms. Findings demonstrated that MD differs significantly from normative daydreaming in terms of quantity, content, experience, controllability, distress, and interference with life functioning. Results also demonstrated that Maladaptive Daydreamers endorsed significantly higher rates of attention deficit, obsessive compulsive and dissociation symptoms than controls. In sum, findings suggested that MD represents an under-acknowledged clinical phenomenon that causes distress, hinders life functioning and requires more scientific and clinical attention.
Language
  • English
Open access status
closed
Identifiers
Persistent URL
https://sonar.ch/global/documents/181526
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