ICMDR team
Jan 1, 20234 min
We say goodbye to a year of tremendous momentum in the maladaptive daydreaming field regarding scientific publications, student research, public awareness, advocacy, and press coverage.
Before you read below what December 2022 has offered, here is an urgent appeal to you all from The Consciousness and Psychopathology lab at Ben Gurion University.
We need your help in recruiting comparison non-MD participants!
The Consciousness and Psychopathology lab currently studies reciprocal relations between self-concept, memories, and daydreaming. The maladaptive daydreaming (MD) community has always been very forthcoming. We were less successful in recruiting a non-MD control group which is necessary to understand MD's effect better. Fortunately, we were recently able to secure some funding for this purpose. To compensate respondents for their time, we will send them Amazon voucher gift cards worth $25! Still, it is difficult for us to reach interested non-MD respondents. We appeal to all who are comfortable distributing our Call for participants and encourage them to distribute it further. Please post our Call on your social media and share it with your contacts. By helping us circulate this Call you will be assisting our effort to get more recognition of MD in the scientific and medical community.
https://soffern.wixsite.com/soffer-dudek-lab-bgu/general-clean
Without your assistance, we will not be able to complete this study.
Many thanks for considering our request!
Ori Meidan (graduate student) and Dr. Nirit Soffer-Dudek
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
If you have doubts about what happens after participating in our studies, look at the impressive list below.
Our colleagues from The University of Debrecen, Hungary, provided evidence suggesting that MD is a trans-diagnostic phenomenon, probably employed initially as a means for distress regulation. To read this interesting paper, click on its reference below.
Horváth-Labancz, E., Sándor, A., Balázs, K., Molnár, J., & Kuritárné Szabó, I. (2022). Pathological personality traits of maladaptive daydreamers measured by the Personality Inventory for DSM-5 in a psychiatric sample. Clinical psychology & psychotherapy, 10.1002/cpp.2820. Advance online publication.https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.2820.
The Turkish journal of Bioethics published a paper on an ethical approach to MD. We wish we understood Turkish. Here is a linked reference for those who do:
MD was also featured in an international conference held in Girne, Northern Cyprus. If you read Turkish, click on the link for the full paper.
The Farsi language version of our screening measure, the MDS-16, has been validated in Iran. Click on the reference below to read the English translation of the abstract.
Ahmadi, F., Goodarzi, M., Kazemi Rezai, S.A. & Yazdanimehr, R. (2023). Reliability, validity, and factor structure of the maladaptive daydreaming scale (MDS-16) in an Iranian sample. Journal of Clinical PsychologyDOI: 10.22075/JCP.2022.27056.2443
We congratulate Maryam Basirnia, an Iranian psychology student who has just submitted her Master’s thesis on MD to her Tehran-based university. An English translation of the abstract is linked to the reference below.
Finally, congratulations to Rachael Haynes. She was recently awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) for her research on MD. Her dissertation is linked below:
Haynes, R. (2022). The differential emotional processing theory of maladaptive daydreaming. Dissertation submitted to Charles Sturt University in fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. The School of Psychology, Faculty of Business, Justice and Behavioural Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga Campus, NSW, Australia
In December, we were notified by the Down Syndrome Resource Foundation (DSRF) that they see an increase in MD-type of behavior in the Down syndrome community. The DSRF had aired a podcast on their website featuring Dr. Susan Fawcett and Adrienne Dall'Antonia , titled: Fantasyland: When Imaginations Get Carried Away. Click here to listen.
Press
The media continues to show interest in MD and contributes to raising public awareness of this condition. For example:
The Conversation is a not-for-profit organization, an independent source of news, analysis, and expert opinion, written by academics and researchers and delivered directly to the public. Here is their December story on MD: Daydreaming’s dark side: the compulsive, complex fantasy disorder that dominates some people’s daily lives
Maladaptive daydreaming received an unusual publicity boost in India last month.
The Hindu is the second most circulated English-language daily newspaper in India, established in 1878. Here is their December article on MD: Daydreaming’s dark side: The compulsive, complex fantasy disorder that dominates some people’s daily lives.
The Tribune is a leading Indian English-language daily newspaper founded in 1881, with a worldwide circulation. They too, published a story on MD: Daydreaming’s dark side: The compulsive, complex fantasy disorder that dominates some people’s daily lives
Following he publications in these two reputable Indian newspapers, we were notified of additional coverage of MD in four other stories about MD in Indian news outlets:
DNA India: Is daydreaming an addiction? Find out problems and benefits associated with Maladaptive Daydreaming
JagranJosh: What is maladaptive daydreaming? When daydreaming becomes addictive
Mirchi Plus: Don't daydream too much, it ALSO has a darkside. Read how!
MD was also featured elsewhere:
Epoch Times is an international multi-language newspaper and media company affiliated with the Falun Gong religious movement. Here is their December coverage of MD: The Dark Side of Daydreaming: The compulsive, complex fantasy disorder that dominates some people’s daily lives
ICE (Information, Communication, Entertainment) is an Israeli Internet website that specializes in marketing and advertising. In December it featured a story on MD in the Hebrew language titled: נוטים לחלום בהקיץ? חשוב שתקראו את זה לפני הפעם הבאה (Do you tend to daydream? It is important that you read this before you do it again.
And finally: The magazine Additude of the largest ADHD society, has selected their report titled: Maladaptive Daydreaming Should Be a Diagnosis Distinct from ADHD as one of their best 2002 news articles.
Wishing you all a Happy New Year 2023 with the hope that you will have many blessings in the year to come.