Was that really me? Relationships between memory and sense of self in people with maladaptive daydreaming

A cohesive sense of self depends on intact autobiographical memory, both of which are impaired in dissociative disorders. Maladaptive daydreaming (MD), a recently proposed dissociative condition, involves excessive immersion in fantastical inner worlds, often at the expense of real-life engagement, leading to distress and functional impairment. The present study aimed to examine whether maladaptive daydreamers' persistent focus on imagined events and an idealized self, alongside reduced attention to real experiences, may create confusion, impair memory, and ultimately disrupt self-coherence.

N = 191 adults (88 with MD, 74% female, M_age = 28.92, SD_age = 10.86; 103 controls, 75% female, M_age = 30.06, SD_age = 10.90) completed objective memory tasks (Autobiographical memory test; Reality monitoring test), and questionnaires (Dissociative experiences scale, childhood trauma questionnaire, maladaptive daydreaming scale, self-concept clarity, and a newly developed confabulation experiences questionnaire).

As predicted, autobiographical memory in MD was impaired (MD = 6.48 [2.93], Control = 7.46[2.65], t (189) = -2.41, p < .05, d = -.35), more confabulation experiences were reported (MD = 16.63[12.69], Control = 11.94[10.23], t (189) = 2.78, p < .01, d = .40) and self-concept was less coherent (MD = 29.14[8.60], Control = 35.89[10.18], t (189) = -4.87, p < .001, d = -.71). Memory deficits mediated the MD-self-concept relationship, but only through commission, rather than omission, errors.

In sum, compulsive-immersive daydreaming is related to forgetting and confabulation, which may disrupt one's sense of identity. These findings support the view of MD as a dissociative condition marked by a fragmented self-concept.