Multilevel analysis exploring the links between stress, depression, and sleep problems among two-year college students

ABSTRACT

Objective: This study explored the association of stress and depression with a multidimensional sleep problems construct in a sample of 2-year college students. Participants: The sample consisted of 440 students enrolled in 2-year study from Fall 2011 to Fall 2013. Methods: Participants in an obesity prevention study completed surveys assessing sleep, stress, and depression at baseline, 4, 12, and 24 months. Multilevel models predicting sleep problems were conducted to distinguish episodic from chronic reports of stress and depression. Results: Participants were primarily women (68%), white (73%), young adults (M age = 22.8), with an average of 8.4 hours of sleep per night. Neither stress nor depression was predictive of sleep quantity; however, they were predictive of sleep quality. Conclusions: Results show that sleep quality rather than sleep quantity may be the greater health concern for young adults, suggesting that intervention programs targeting depression, stress management, and healthy sleep patterns are warranted.

KEYWORDS:

• Depression
• mental health
• sleep problems
• stress
• young adults

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the students and the staff at Anoka-Ramsey Community College, Inver Hills Community College, and St. Paul College for the support and help with this project.

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article meet the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of the United States and received approval from the Institutional Review Board of the University of Minnesota.

Funding

This research was supported through a grant from NHLBI (1 U01 HL096767-01: Leslie A. Lytle, Principal Investigator).

Notes

* Because the purpose of this study was to assess whether depression and stress predict sleep quantity as well as specific sleep quality issues, the PSQI scale items were not collapsed into a composite score.