Sleeping to Cope or Coping to Sleep? Exploring the Association Between Sleep and Emotion Regulation Strategies

Abstract

Using path analysis, we examined bidirectional associations to determine the impact of sleep quality on the use of active or avoidant emotion regulation strategies and conversely, whether those emotion regulation strategies predicted sleep quality. Additionally, we analyzed whether sleep quality or emotion regulation strategies independently predicted psychopathology. Data came from a longitudinal study of 226 children and adolescents with measures of sleep quality, emotion regulation, and internalizing and externalizing problems collected at ages 14 and 16. Analyses controlled for emotional and behavioral problems assessed at age 11. Findings demonstrated that sleep quality and emotion regulation strategies independently predicted internalizing and externalizing symptoms at ages 14 and 16. Sleep quality did not predict emotion regulation strategies, nor did these strategies predict sleep quality. However, sleep quality at age 14 predicted internalizing and externalizing symptoms at age 14 and internalizing symptoms at age 16. Avoidant emotion regulation strategies at age 14 predicted internalizing symptoms, while active strategies were negatively associated with internalizing symptoms at both ages. These findings suggest that sleep quality and emotion regulation strategiesindependently influence adolescent psychopathology and could be key targets for prevention and intervention.