The Relationship of Neuroticism with Sleep Quality: The Mediating Role of Emotional, Cognitive and Metacognitive Factors

ABSTRACT

Background

Poor sleep quality is associated with a broad range of psychopathology and is a common problem among college students. This study aimed to investigate the mediating role of metacognitive beliefs related to sleep, emotion regulation and a negative cognitive style related to anxiety (looming cognitive style) in the relation between neuroticism and reported sleep quality.

Participants

Participants were 343 undergraduates from three universities in Tehran (56.3% females, Mean age = 22.01 ± 2.74 years).

Method

Data were gathered with a questionnaire packet that included the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Metacognitions Questionnaire-Insomnia (MCQ-I), Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), Looming Maladaptive Style Questionnaire (LMSQ) and Neuroticism subscale of NEO-PI-R.

Results

Structural equation modeling analyses supported a proposed model (R² = 37%) which proposed that neuroticism both directly and indirectly linked to reported sleep quality through metacognitions related to sleep, cognitive reappraisal and looming cognitive style (χ2 = 1194.87, p < .001; CFI = 0.93, NFI = 0.90, RMSEA = 0.065, GFI = 0.92, SRMR = 0.069, IFI = 0.93).

Conclusions

The results provide evidence for the impact of neuroticism on reported sleep quality through metacognitive, cognitive and emotional factors. The result suggest that special attention should be paid to these factors in the treatment and psychopathology of sleep quality.

CRediT author statement

Mehdi Akbari: Supervision, Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal analysis, Writing-Original Draft, Writing - Review & Editing Elahe Zamani: Investigation, Formal analysis, Writing-Original Draft, Writing-Review & Editing Shahram Mohammadkhani: Conceptualization, Writing-Original Draft, Writing-Review & Editing John H. Riskind: Writing-Original Draft, Writing-Review & Editing Christopher L. Drake: Writing-Review & Editing Laura Palagini: Writing-Review & Editing.

Acknowledgments

All persons who have made substantial contributions to the work reported in the manuscript (e.g., technical help, writing and editing assistance, general support), but who do not meet the criteria for authorship, are named in the Acknowledgements and have given us their written permission to be named. If we have not included an Acknowledgements, then that indicates that we have not received substantial contributions from non-authors.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, [M. A], upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.