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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Psychological Therapy and Psychosomatics
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1408037

The Relationship Between Nightmares and Depression in Adolescents: The Effect of Age and Anxiety

Provisionally accepted
Yuhang Li Yuhang Li 1Xiaorong Duan Xiaorong Duan 1Ning Liu Ning Liu 1Xueyang Han Xueyang Han 1Le Han Le Han 1Mingzhu Su Mingzhu Su 1Tao Yang Tao Yang 1Sha He Sha He 1Rui Liu Rui Liu 1Xinyu Gao Xinyu Gao 1Yutong Xie Yutong Xie 1Jie Jiang Jie Jiang 2Laiqi Yang Laiqi Yang 1Bin Xie Bin Xie 3Xue Zou Xue Zou 1*
  • 1 Xi'an International Medical Center Hospital, Xi’an, China
  • 2 Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, China
  • 3 Xi'an Physical Education University, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Introduction: Nightmares and depression are prevalent issues among adolescents. This study explores the relationship between nightmares and depression, focusing on the mediating role of anxiety and the moderating effect of age.Methods: A total of 210 adolescents aged 13 to 24 were surveyed using the Nightmare Distress Questionnaire (NDQ-CV), Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), and Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS). They also underwent niacin skin flushing response (NSFR) testing to explore physiological correlations. A moderated mediation model was applied to assess the relationships between nightmares, anxiety, and depression.Spearman correlation analysis was used to analyze the relationship between nightmares and NSFR. Results: Nightmares did not directly lead to depression, but anxiety served as a full mediator in this relationship. Age had no significant moderating effect. Additionally, a significant negative correlation between nightmares and NSFR was observed.Conclusion: Nightmares contribute to anxiety, which can lead to depression in adolescents, suggesting that clinicians can identify and intervene with nightmares in adolescents to minimize the onset of psychological disorders. The study also highlights a possible connection between nightmares and NSFR, suggesting further research is needed to understand the physiological mechanisms.

    Keywords: nightmares, Depression, age, Anxiety, niacin skin flushing response

    Received: 27 Mar 2024; Accepted: 26 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Li, Duan, Liu, Han, Han, Su, Yang, He, Liu, Gao, Xie, Jiang, Yang, Xie and Zou. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Xue Zou, Xi'an International Medical Center Hospital, Xi’an, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.