Investigation on dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes about sleep in Chinese college students.

OBJECTIVE

The aims of this study were to evaluate a subset of sleep-related cognitions and to examine whether dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes about sleep were associated with sleep quality in college students.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A total of 1,333 college students were enrolled in this study by randomized cluster sampling. A brief version of Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes about Sleep Scale (DBAS-16) was administered to college students at several colleges. Sleep quality was also assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). The DBAS-16 scores were analyzed across different demographic variables, corresponding subscales of 7-item PSQI, and relevant sleep behavior variables.

RESULTS

A total of 343 participants were poor sleepers, while 990 were good sleepers, as defined by PSQI. The DBAS-16 scores were lower in poor sleepers than in good sleepers (46.32 ± 7.851 vs 49.87 ± 8.349, < 0.001), and DBAS-16 scores were lower in females and nonmedical students when compared with those in males and medical students, respectively (48.20 ± 8.711 vs 49.73 ± 7.923, = 0.001; 48.56 ± 8.406 vs 49.88 ± 8.208, = 0.009, respectively). The total score for sleep quality, as measured by PSQI, was negatively correlated with the DBAS-16 total score ( = -0.197, < 0.01). There were significant differences in PSQI scores between individuals with attitudes and those without attitudes about sleep with respect to good sleep habits ( < 0.001), self-relaxation ( = 0.001), physical exercise ( < 0.001), taking sleeping pills ( = 0.004), and taking no action ( < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Dysfunctional beliefs about sleep are associated with sleep quality and should be discouraged, especially for females and nonmedical college students.