Psychological Distress among Students During COVID-19: Sleep Quality and Cognitive Emotion Regulation as Correlates.

Abstract

The main objectives of the current study were to assess the association between sleep quality and psychological distress and to assess whether cognitive emotion regulation strategies mediate the link between sleep quality and psychological distress. To approach the study objectives, psychological distress was assessed from stress, anxiety, and depression; and emotion regulation was assessed from two cognitive emotion regulation strategies, putting into perspective and catastrophizing. It was hypothesized that there would be positive associations of poor sleep quality with anxiety, depression, and stress. A secondary hypothesis was that the selected cognitive emotion regulation would mediate the association of sleep quality with anxiety, depression, and stress. A sample of 202 college and university students in age range 16-30 (M=21.64, SD= 2.32; Men= 65, Women=137) was selected through an online survey to conduct the study. Convenient sampling strategy was used to approach participants and collect data. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (Buysse, 1989), Depression, anxiety and stress scale-21 (Lovibond, 1995) and Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (Garnefski & Kraaij, 2007) were used to assess the sleep quality, psychological distress variables and the cognitive emotion regulation respectively. Pearson product-moment correlation and mediation analysis were used to test study hypotheses. The findings of the study revealed that poor sleep quality was a positive correlate of stress, anxiety, and depression. Findings from mediation analysis indicated that only one of the two cognitive emotion regulation strategies; catastrophizing significantly mediated the association of sleep quality with stress, anxiety, and depression. Limitations, implications and future directions of the current study were also discussed.