Whose Sexual Dream Experiences Are More Intense? An Exploratory Study on the Relationship Between Personality Traits and Sexual Dreams

Gan, Youteng
Wang, Ruohang
Wang, Xueyu
Li, Jiangang
Chen, Yuting
Chen, Jianan
Fan, Hongying

School of Psychology, Beijing Sport University

Deirdre Barrett served as action editor.

This work was supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of China (Grants 2022YB012 and 2022YB003). The authors would like to thank all those who participated in this study. The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare. Regarding research work described in the article, each one of our coauthors, Youteng Gan, Ruohang Wang, Xueyu Wang, Jiangang Li, Yuting Chen, Jianan Chen, and Hongying Fan, conformed to the Helsinki Declaration concerning human rights and informed consent, and followed correct procedures concerning treatment of humans in research (Ethical Approval Document 2020156H-1). The data sets of the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Hongying Fan, School of Psychology, Beijing Sport University, Xinxi Road 48, Haidian District, Beijing 100084, China [email protected] [email protected]

Dreaming 35(2):p 190-204, June 2025. | DOI: 10.1037/drm0000289

Sexual dreams reflect individuals’ attitudes toward sex, the personal significance of sex, and/or sexual issues in their waking life. Gaining insight into the factors associated with the perceived intensity of sexual dream experiences is beneficial for achieving a comprehensive assessment of sexual mental health. The study will explore the relationship among personality traits, anxiety, depression, and sexual dream experiences based on the continuity hypothesis of dreaming. A questionnaire was administered to 384 participants (mean age = 20.63 years, SD = 1.21; 205 females, 179 males), revealing that over half of them reported having sexual dreams, with a higher prevalence among males. The sexual dream group scored higher than the nonsexual dream group on aggressiveness, neuroticism, and sensation seeking. Furthermore, negative emotions, sensation seeking, activity, and extraversion play an important role in the perceived intensity of sexual dream experiences among sexual dreamers. These findings provide valuable insights for sexual education practitioners to understand individuals’ sexual dream experiences and related psychological factors, contributing to scientific advancements in sexual health and education.