Live Poster Session: Sleeping Away the Blues -> Sleep & Psychosocial Adjustment Lab
Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic forced many college students to make abrupt changes in their learning (e.g., switch to online learning), living arrangements (e.g., moving back home with family following campus closures), and sleep behaviors (e.g., more opportunities for sleep because of no commute and social activities). These abrupt changes have led to increased psychological distress among college students, who were already at risk for mental health challenges before the pandemic (Son, 2020; Bhat, 2020; Peretti, 2020). This study aimed to better understand the relationship between depressive symptoms and sleep behaviors among a sample of college students during the first 6 months of the pandemic. Participants (N = 619; Mean age = 21.79, SD=2.15) completed an online survey twice (Time 1: May-June 2020 and Time 2: October-November 2020) and responded to validated scales assessing insomnia symptoms and depressive symptoms; and self-reported their sleep onset latency and sleep duration. Results of an autoregressive cross-lagged model in AMOS (controlling for age, gender, race-ethnicity, sexuality, and diagnosis of mental illness) showed a significant unidirectional effect, such that higher depressed mood at baseline predicted declines in sleep quality 3-4 months later, but not vice versa. Future research should account for the role of specific COVID-19 experiences, social support, and coping strategies to better understand how individuals and institutions can support college students during this period of unprecedented stress and uncertainty.
Tina-Han-FINAL-poster.pptx