Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2023

Faculty Sponsor

Dr. Elise Murowchick

Abstract

Anxiety is the most common mental health concern within the collegiate population and is compounded by the fact that, as displayed by past research, about 60% of college students experience trouble with sleep. This coincides with the fact that anxiety and sleep issues are often found to be linked. A third variable, coping style, is influential to one's psychological status and thus this research sets out to investigate if coping style moderates and/or mediates the relationship between sleep and anxiety. Coping style is separated into three different categories: problem-focused, emotion-focused, and avoidant. The 71 individuals that made up this study's sample completed a survey composed of the GAD-7, PSQI, and the Brief-COPE. As expected, the results of this research found a small, significant, positive correlation between level of anxiety and sleep troubles (r = .29). However, neither problem-focused, emotion-focused, or avoidant coping styles were found to have a significant moderating or mediating effect on the relationship between anxiety and sleep. While these results were insignificant, this study recommends further investigation into coping within the relationship of anxiety and sleep.

Download
COinS