Prevalence and Detailed Experience of Frequent Sexual Dream in Chinese University Students

Abstract

The sexual dream is partly connected with sexual crimes and affects both physical and psychological well-being of university students, but there is no investigation on the detailed sexual dream experience and the depressive mood in this population in China. Altogether 3,479 students in a comprehensive Chinese university were invited to report their frequency of lifelong sexual dream. The frequent sexual dreamers (sDreamers) and nonfrequent sexual dreamers (controls) were invited to answer the Sexual Dream Experience Questionnaire (SDEQ) and the Plutchik–van Praag Depression Inventory. Altogether 1,481 students reported their lifetime sexual dreams (the prevalence of sexual dream was 42.57%), and 89 were defined as sDreamers (the prevalence of frequent sexual dream was 2.56%), with a male preponderance. Comparisons between sDreamers and the 213 controls have shown that the SDEQ Joyfulness, Familiarity, and Bizarreness scores were elevated in sDreamers. Moreover, Plutchik–van Praag Depression Inventory was correlated with SDEQ Joyfulness and Bizarreness in sDreamers and with Joyfulness in controls. This is the first report in Chinese university students regarding the sexual dream experience and depressive mood, which might help to investigate the emotional state in frequent sexual dreamers.