Dream Work in the United States and Korea: Self-Oriented and Relationship-Oriented Themes of Female College Students

초록

We compared the self and relationship themes in dream sessions of 10 U.S. and 10Korean female college students. Preliminary analyses showed that the two samples weresimilar in terms of dream salience, but the U.S. sample scored higher in terms of sessionoutcome (session evaluation, gains in dream work) than did the Korean sample.Qualitative analyses revealed considerable similarity in their descriptions of self andrelationships in that participants in both samples discussed self-esteem/self-image, self-competence, personality and emotional traits, and multiple aspects of self. In terms ofdifferences, U.S. participants more often than their Korean counterparts discussed asense of self-agency, high self-esteem/positive self-image, desire to control their ownlives, self-competence, inner conflicts, and feeling distant and experiencing conflicts innonfamily relationships, whereas Korean participants more often than their U.S. coun-terparts discussed feelings of helplessness and feeling criticized in family relationships.Results are discussed in terms of cultural differences. Strengths and limitations of currentfindings as well as implications for research and clinical practice are included

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