Political mobilization, trauma, delusional dream themes, and nightmare distress in Hong Kong.

Abstract

Dreams are known to be affected by large-scale traumatic events that impact society, but the literature on social movement-related trauma is inadequate. The Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement (Anti-ELAB) was a 7-month large-scale and highly traumatic social movement in Hong Kong that began in March 2019 in opposition to a bill proposed by the Hong Kong Government to amend its extradition laws. Using a sample of 112 Chinese young adult (74 females, 38 males, Mage = 20.83) residents in Hong Kong, this article reports an investigation into relationships between trauma (as manifested in posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms), dream content (dream motifs, classified according to persecution or ego ideal delusional inclinations), and nightmare distress, all recalled by participants in relation to personal experiences of the Anti-ELAB. The hypothetical mediation models tested in the study confirm that the Anti-ELAB affected dream variables indirectly through trauma, including dream motifs modulated by persecution and ego ideal inclinations, offering critical insights into their dynamic interplay. Potential explanations for the findings as well as their implications for further research and clinical practice are discussed.