The COVID-19 pandemic never slowed down maladaptive daydreaming (MD) research

We are now analyzing a large dataset of a study on the effects of exposure to the Coronavirus pandemic and lockdown stress on MD. We had close to 2000 respondents from all corners of the world.

Thank you all for your support of MD research!

In the meantime, a University of Connecticut led team reported preliminary findings showing that higher Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) traits among people with MD are related to higher maladaptive daydreaming scores via loneliness and emotion regulation difficulties. After accounting for these factors, ASD traits no longer predicted maladaptive daydreaming. These preliminary findings flag MD as something that clinicians should look for in people with ASD who are also lonely and have emotion regulation difficulties. Also, those factors may be important treatment targets for people with ASD who do report symptoms of MD.

Another piece of good news is that the MDS-16 has now been translated into 33 languages. The most recent additions are Portuguese, Estonian, Greek, and Montenegrin. Go to our Measures page to download the MDS in your language.