The Dream and Sleep Emotions and Anxiety Questionnaire (DSEA): Reliability and structural validity using Confirmatory Factor Analysis

Abstract

The study of anxiety traits and their relationship with emotions in dreaming is gaining special relevance in recent times. One instrument that measures the level of sleep anxiety and emotional valence in dreams is the DSEA (Dream and Sleep Emotions and Anxiety) questionnaire. This questionnaire has two different scales, one for sleep anxiety (S) and one for dream anxiety (D), although reliability and validity analyzes have not yet been carried out in either of them. The aim of the current study was to obtain evidence of the two scales of DSEA reliability and internal structural validity. With a sample of 1058 participants, correlations between DSEA with other anxiety and emotional valence questionnaires have been calculated. Also, one confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) for each scale was performed. Results showed significant moderated and high correlations with other anxiety scales and adequate goodness of fit indices in CFA, which support the underlying constructs. Consequently, the results of DSEA validation were sufficient for its use in any study with deals with sleep and dreaming anxiety, and emotions. An English version of the DSEA questionnaire is included.