Interpersonal Stress and Sleep Quality in High School Students: A Serial Mediation Model

Objective:Poor sleep quality in high school students can lead to inattention, memory decline, and even psychological disorders. This study aims to explore the impact of interpersonal stress on sleep quality from an interpersonal pressure perspective, incorporating individual emotional factors. The relationships between interpersonal stress, regulatory emotional self-efficacy (RESE), loneliness, and sleep quality were examined, and a model was constructed to elucidate their interconnections.

Methods: A questionnaire survey was conducted with 641 high school students from grades 10 to 12, randomly selected from a high school in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China. The survey instruments included the Adolescent Interpersonal Stress Scale, Emotion Regulation Self-Efficacy Scale (RESE), UCLA Loneliness Scale, and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Descriptive statistics, multivariate analysis of variance, independent samples t-tests, Pearson correlation analysis, and Bootstrap mediation effect tests were employed to examine the relationship between interpersonal stress and sleep quality, and to explore the serial mediating roles of RESE and loneliness.

Results: (1) Interpersonal stress significantly predicted poor sleep quality (r = 0.409, p < 0.01). (2) RESE and loneliness individually mediated the relationship between interpersonal stress and sleep quality (β = -0.312, t = -7.116, p < 0.000; β = 0.399, t = 11.295, p < 0.000, respectively). (3) RESE and loneliness together acted as a serial mediator in the association between interpersonal stress and sleep quality (β = -0.313, t = -10.173, p < 0.000). These findings indicate that higher levels of interpersonal stress are associated with poorer sleep quality, and this relationship is influenced by the chain mediating effects of RESE and loneliness.

Conclusion: This study contributes to understanding how interpersonal stress affects sleep quality in adolescents and identifies potential intervention targets. It highlights the importance of addressing interpersonal stress and emotional factors like RESE and loneliness to improve sleep quality among high school students.