Date of Award
5-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Psychology
Committee Chair/Advisor
Dr. Cynthia Pury
Committee Member
Dr. Jody Nicholson
Committee Member
Dr. Jinan Allan
Abstract
Nightmares are an infamous phenomenon where subjective meaning and objective implications meet. This thesis examined nightmare distress’ impact on fear of sleep and nightmare processing avoidance, a novel construct measured with a pilot survey; it also investigated the moderating roles of courage and neuroticism, with PTSD included as a covariate. The research was rooted in the dual-process model of courage and a phenomenology to assess approach and avoidance through goals and risks.
Participants were primarily recruited through Clemson’s SONA system, were mainly White, women, and young adults (N = 351); measures were administered via Qualtrics. Four hypotheses were tested, and three research questions about understanding nightmares (goals, risks, themes) were coded and thematically analyzed.
Results showed nightmare distress was strongly correlated with fear of sleep (r(335) = .54, p < .001) and weakly associated with nightmare processing avoidance (r(329) = .16, p = .001). Multiple regression analyses showed large effect sizes for fear of sleep when courage (f² = .59) and neuroticism (f² = .61) were included, whereas regression models predicting nightmare processing avoidance were non-significant.
These findings support how nightmare distress relates to fear of sleep and can be exacerbated by neuroticism, while nightmare processing avoidance requires further evaluation alongside other variables. Courage should be explored through emotional and cognitive approach rather than behavioral or fear-driven to understand how people determine goals and risks in spaces where courage is a process, not a behavior.
Recommended Citation
Gonzales, Casidee, "Confronting the Darkness: Nightmare Distress, Fear, and Avoidance Through the Lens of Courage" (2026). All Theses. 4684.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_theses/4684
Author ORCID Identifier
0009-0006-2613-7656