Do the Life Events Have Significant Influences on Sleep Quality of College Students?

Objective To explore the characteristics of sleep quality, life events and coping style in college students, and analyze the relationship among the above 3 variables. Methods Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Trait Coping Style Questionnaire (TCSQ), Life Event Scale (LES) and a self-edited questionnaire on the general information were adopted for investigating 838 college students who were  selected by stratified random sampling from 7 universities in Guangdong Province. Results (1) The total score of PSQI and LES were (6.09±2.69) and (17.25±20.57), respectively. (2) The score of negative coping and positive coping were (27.26±6.60) and (32.37±6.54), respectively. There is a pairwise correlation among the total score of PSQI, TCSQ and the score of negative coping (r =.246, .122, .148, P < 0.01). There is a pairwise correlation among the total score of PSQI, the score of negative life events and negative coping (r = .281, .122, .163, P < 0.01). There is a pairwise correlation among the total score of PSQI, the score of negative life events and positive coping (r =.281, -.084, -.079, P < 0.05). (3) The negative coping played a partial intermediary role between negative life events and the total score of PSQI, and the intermediary effect accounted for 7.08% of the total effect. Conclusions Negative life events not only have a direct role on the sleep quality in the undergraduates, but also indirectly influence it through negative coping.

Keyword: College Students; Sleep Quality; Life Events; Coping Style; Mediating Effect