
The year 2022 is ending, and the academic bustle is in high gear. Three new MD research publications are featured in international peer-reviewed journals. The two papers led by Dr. Melina West on MD among neurodivergent respondents are now available on our website. The paper by Chirico et al. sheds further light on MD as a mental disorder. A team from the University of Haifa, Israel, is now conducting a meta-analysis on over 40 research publications to investigate the accumulated effect size of this relationship.
Another paper by Soffer-Dudek and Somer was published as a chapter in the authoritative (and voluminous) book titled Dissociation and the Dissociative Disorders (2nd ed.) The manuscript summarizes the evidence to support the classification of MD as a dissociative disorder.
Four other papers mark a sharp increase in MD interest in South Asia. These research articles were featured in scientific journals published in India and Pakistan.
You can access them from the citations list below:
Scientific publications
Chirico, I., Volpato, E., Landi, G. et al. (2022). Maladaptive Daydreaming and Its Relationship with Psychopathological Symptoms, Emotion Regulation, and Problematic Social Networking Sites Use: a Network Analysis Approach. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-022-00938-3
West, M.J., Somer, E., & Eigsti, I.-M. (2022). Shared Challenges and Cooccurrence of Maladaptive Daydreaming and Autism Spectrum Disorder. Advances in NeurodevelopmentalDisorders. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41252-022-00279-1
West, M. J., Somer, E., & Eigsti, I.-M. (2022). Immersive and Maladaptive Daydreaming and Divergent Thinking in Autism Spectrum Disorders. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, Online First.https://doi.org/10.1177/02762366221129819
Soffer-Dudek, N. & Somer, E. (2022). Maladaptive daydreaming is a dissociative disorder: Supporting evidence and theory. In J.M. Dorahy (ed.) Dissociation and the Dissociative Disorders (2nd ed.). Taylor & Francis, pp 547-559.
Anandarami, V.S. & Roneena, A.J. (2023). Maladaptive daydreaming in individuals with disorganized attachment style: A case study. Journal of Research in Social Sciences and Humanities, 3(2). https://doi.org/10.47679/jrssh.v3i2.42
Chaudhary, S., Jain, K., Agarwal, M. & Bajaj, V.. (2022). Maladaptive Daydreaming Among the Indian Youth: A Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis. International Journal of Indian Psychȯlogy, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.25215/1001.027
Shafiq, S. & Zafar, H. (2022). Social Anxiety as Predictor of Depression in Adolescents: Mediating Role of Dysfunctional Daydreaming. Journal of Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences, Online First. doi.10.22442/jlumhs.2022.00963
Talking about research: A new call for participants is open. You are invited to take part if you have experienced shame due to a disability or your racial or ethnic identity and believe you have maladaptive daydreaming. For more details, click here.
Student projects

The interest in MD continues to capture the students’ imagination. A documentary by a student in the Czech Republic aims to spread information about MD. The film is based on real stories of people suffering from maladaptive daydreaming and offers comments by two clinical psychologists. A thesis in French by a Swiss student explores the relationship between MD and attention deficit disorder. A British journalism student presented his exposé on MD titled: “Should excessive daydreaming be recognised as an official disorder?”. Finally, a thesis submitted to the department of anthropology at Princeton University presents a medical anthropology perspective on MD. The works of these brilliant students are accessible from the list below.
Rogna, J. (2021). LA RÊVERIE COMPULSIVE ET LE DÉFICIT DE L’ATTENTION TISSER UN LIEN ENTRE CES DEUX PHÉNOMÈNES CLINIQUES. Mémoire de Master, Faculté des Sciences Sociales et Politiques - Institut de psychologie, Université de Lausanne, Suisse.(pdf).
Gyesi-Appiah, L. (2022). Should excessive daydreaming be recognised as an official disorder? November 2022. Shorthand. (pdf)
Marino, A. (2022). Postmodern reveries: Expeditions to the Maladaptive Daydreaming World. A thesis submitted to the Department of Anthropology, Princeton University, USA. (pdf)
Press

Technical Ripon publishes the latest and essential breakthroughs in transformative tech and scientific discoveries that have the potential to revolutionize our culture, lives, and industry. Here is a story on MD published in this outlet recently. TikTok is fascinated by maladaptive daydreaming. So what is it? November 2022. Technical Rippon. (pdf).
One million monthly unique visitors visit GLAM, a publication dedicated to “beauty, lifestyle, and fashion.” Check it out: What is maladaptive daydreaming? November 2022. Glam. (pdf)
One of Australia’s leading independent fashion titles, Fashion Journal, published an article titled: What is maladaptive daydreaming and why is it all over TikTok? (pdf)
A New York student publication published the following story: Lost in a daydream, November 2022. Ethos News. (pdf).
Ylioppilaslehti is a national student newspaper from Helsinki, Finland. It featured a story on MD titled: “Toiseen todellisuuteen” (To another reality, in Finnish).
The Polish edition of Vogue featured a story called Addiction dreamers: Nałogowi marzyciele. Vogue Polska (in Polish). (pdf).
Finally, we were informed about an Australian Psychology website called
Discussing psychology. The editor seems fascinated by MD because most articles are on this mental condition. They even added the MDS-16 to their main menu.


Have a joyous holiday season all; happy Hanukkah and merry Christmas!