Loneliness influence on Sleep Outcomes.

Discrimination’s Role on Sleep Outcomes and the Moderating Role of Loneliness

Presenter: Amish Patel

Co-Presenter(s):
Armin Hojjaty, Matthew Zawadzki

Presenter Status: Undergraduate student

Academic Year: 22-23

Semester: Spring

Faculty Mentor: Glenn Brassington

Department: Psychology

Funding Source/Sponsor: McNair

President's Strategic Plan Goal: Diversity and Social Justice

Abstract:
Poor sleep quality is widespread among college students. Sleep deprivation disproportionately affects racial ethnic groups, who face increased stressors compared to white counterparts. Past research elucidates how discrimination hinders sleep quality among African American, Asian American, and Latinx groups. This paper extends previous work on sleep and discrimination by examining whether loneliness moderates this relationship, specifically in the context of racially diverse college students. The majority of the participants came from ethnically marginalized groups (n=71). Measures included an adapted form of the PittsBurgh Sleep Quality Index, the Everyday Discrimination Scale, and an EMA Loneliness Questionnaire. Statistical analysis was done through SPSS statistical software. Results indicate that experiences of everyday discrimination was associated with poorer sleep quality, however, loneliness did not appear to moderate this relationship. Future directions to this research are if these findings apply to older adults, Asian American, and LGBTQ+ individuals. This research provides meaningful insights on how social mechanisms impact discrimination’s effects on sleep outcomes.