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Maladaptive daydreaming (MD) is a compulsive mental activity characterized by immersive, narrative-driven fantasies that disrupt daily functioning. Although emotional regulation difficulties have been identified as a key antecedent of MD, the processes by which emotional dysregulation interacts with social factors remain unclear. This study examined the relationships among emotion regulation difficulties, perceived stress, loneliness, life satisfaction, and MD in a non-clinical sample of 215 young adults (both male & female). Participants completed the Maladaptive Daydreaming Scale, the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, the Perceived Stress Scale, the UCLA Loneliness Scale, and the Satisfaction with Life Scale. Correlation analyses revealed significant positive associations between emotional regulation difficulties, perceived stress and loneliness with MD. Multiple regression indicated that emotional regulation difficulties accounted for a substantial proportion of variance in MD, with loneliness strengthening and life satisfaction weakening this effect. Mediation analyses showed that loneliness partially mediated the effect of emotional regulation difficulties on MD, whereas life satisfaction served as a partial protective mediator. Perceived stress did not emerge as a significant predictor. These findings underscore the multidimensional nature of MD, demonstrating that social perceptions of isolation and subjective well-being jointly influence its severity.

Keywords: Maladaptive daydreaming, emotional regulation, loneliness, life satisfaction, perceived stress

Daydreaming is an integral aspect of human cognition, encompassing a range of spontaneous, internally directed thoughts that occur during waking hours. It occupies approximately 30-50% of our daily mental activity (Killingsworth & Gilbert, 2010; McMillan etal., 2013). While daydreaming is often dismissed as idle or unproductive, research suggests that it plays a vital role in creativity, memory consolidation, problem-solving, and emotional processing (Mooneyham & Schooler, 2013). Adaptive daydreaming has been linked to improved psychological flexibility, enabling individuals to explore hypothetical scenarios and develop creative solutions to real-world problems (Smallwood & Schooler, 2015).

Daydreaming is a multifaceted phenomenon, ranging from purposeful to disruptive and maladaptive experiences (Moment, 2023) Maladaptive daydreaming (MD) involves intense, immersive, and compulsive engagement in vivid, narrative-driven fantasies that interfere with daily functioning, featuring recurring characters and intricate plots distinct from normative mind-wandering (Somer, 2002; Bigelsen & Schupak, 2011). Research has identified maladaptive daydreaming (MD) as a distinct, compulsive form of fantasy engagementmarked by repetitive movements and auditory triggers such as musicthat is sustained and immersive rather than transient like normative mind-wandering...

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