Here are some of the early scholarly MD fruits.
- Publications -
We were very pleased to read five new scientific papers on MD, some, published in quality peer-reviewed scientific journals.
Musetti, A., *Soffer-Dudek, N. (*co-first author), Imperato, C., Schimmenti, A., & Franceschini, C. (2023). Longitudinal associations between maladaptive daydreaming and psychological distress during the COVID-19 health crisis. Journal of Behavioral Addictions. https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.2023.00001 This is the first long-term longitudinal study on the stability of MD and its associations with psychological distress and COVID-19 related exposure. The findings demonstrated strong longitudinal associations between MD levels across the different measurement times demonstrating significant stability of this mental behavior.
The authors found that a tendency to fantasize among grandiose narcissists might also result in compulsive psychological dependence on dreams. Yet, relative to grandiose narcissists vulnerable narcissists seem to be more at risk of an extensive fantasy activity that replaces human interaction and/or interferes with academic, interper- sonal, or vocational functioning.
Pietkiewicz, I. J., Hełka, A., Barłóg, M., & Tomalski, R. (2023). Validity and reliability of the Polish Maladaptive Daydreaming Scale (PMDS-16) and its short form (PMDS-5). Clinical psychology & psychotherapy, 10.1002/cpp.2844. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.2844 The Polish research team not only validated the MDS-16 into Polish but also developed a 5-item short form. The cutoff score maximizing sensitivity and specificity for MD was 42 in both instruments.
An Iranian team of researchers showed that during the outbreak of covid-19, the tendency of MD among nurses to lock themselves in the world of fantasy was intensified and contributed to alienation in social relationships and social isolation, which in turn resulted in the intensification of daydreaming .
Jahangiri, N., Hashemi, N., jafari, L., & Abdollahi Siyahkaldeh, F. (2023). Prediction of Psychological Distress and Job Performance of Nurses Based on Maladaptive Daydreaming and Social Loneliness during the Covid-19 Epidemic. Quarterly Journal of Nursing Management, 11 (4) (in Farsi). (English Abstract).
And finally, a literature review on MD from an Indian team. Vyas, M., Shaikh, M., Rana, S. and Pendyala, A.G. (2023). Is this the real life? Or just a fantasy? A closer look at maladaptive daydreaming, Mental Health and Social Inclusion, ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/MHSI-01-2023-0014
There are other academic activities worth reporting. For example:
- A lecture -
Dr. Amy Lucas gave a talk to MSc students at Middlesex Univesity in the UK for their ‘Developmental Psychopathology’ module. This may have been the first university lecture on the topic in the UK and signals an exciting new phase of awareness on the subject. Here is a slide from Dr. Lucas’ lecture.
- Student work -
Alana Rosenbaum submitted a thesis to the Australian College of Applied Psychology titled: An exploratory study of the lived experience of vivid and immersive fantasisers. Here is a link to the abstract.
And finally, Daisy Wigg, a second-year English and History at the University of Bristol, UK published “Dreaming The Day Away” on Epigram, the award-winning independent student newspaper.
- The media -
The media continues to show a strong interest in MD. The randomized clinical trial of MD treatment that was published recently in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology was featured on an announcement by the American Association for the Advancement of Science: For the first time, an innovative intervention program offers help for people suffering from maladaptive daydreaming. The study continued to capture the media's interest in Israel.
It was featured in a story published in The Jerusalem Post: "Maladaptive daydreaming: What is it and are you suffering from it?".
Furthermore, Israel's largest newspaper and news website, ynet, published a story featuring an interview with the lead author of the study, Dr. Oren Herscu, and the study's supervisor, Prof. Eli Somer titled: Dreaming maladaptively: The Israeli treatment program that may offer relief. (in Hebrew).
Dr. Herscu was also interviewed at length on Israel's national public radio. Take a listen (if you understand Hebrew).
The list of publications that featured MD stories continues to grow. Maladaptive daydreaming was featured in Forbes, an an American business magazine known for its annual rankings of the world's wealthiest individuals and companies.
In addition to its print publication, Forbes has a strong online presence and produces various digital content, including articles, videos, and podcasts. Here is their story titled: Psychological Research Explains Why Our Good Qualities Can Sometimes Be Bad For Us.
- And the list of MD publication in the press goes on -
L'actualité is a French-language monthly magazine based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It covers a wide range of topics, including politics, current events, culture, and society. L'actualité has a readership of over 200,000 people in Quebec and across Canada, with about two million monthly visits. The magazine featured a story titled: “Rêverie compulsive : quand le rêve éveillé remplace la réalité” (Compulsive Daydreaming: When Daydreaming Replaces Reality).
The Cut of the New York Magazine focuses primarily on women's issues, culture, and fashion. It just published a story on Reality Shifting, a distinct form of daydreaming. The article featured excerpts from an interview with Eli Somer on a scientific paper he led on the subject. Living the Dream. Why endure the dull or excruciating realities of everyday life when you can just manifest your way to a better one on TikTok?
Glamour is an online women's magazine with over 12 million monthly visits. For many years a traditional hard-copy magazine, it was founded in 1939. Glamour published a story titled: “Maladaptive daydreaming: Here's why you find yourself in regular, vivid daydream scenarios and what it means”.
Sportskeeda is a global sports content platform that covers the world's biggest sports and esports subjects and serves over 100 Million fans every month. Their March story on MD was titled: “Maladaptive daydreaming: What it is, symptoms & treatment.”
I-D is a documentary series produced by Vice Media that covers various topics, including fashion, music, art, and culture. "I-D" stands for "Identity." Read their story titled: "Why the internet is obsessed with maladaptive daydreaming".
RUSSH is a quarterly, independent Australian fashion magazine established in 2004. The magazine primarily focuses on fashion, art and music. Here is their March story on MD: “What is Maladaptive Daydreaming?”
Joy Number Is a website dedicated to spiritual and paranormal phenomena. One of their March stories was titled: “Maladaptive Daydreaming Stories - Understanding Symptoms, Causes, And Treatment Options.”
Have a great spring season!