Date of Award
Spring 3-2023
Degree Type
Masters Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
School
Psychology
Committee Chair
Kelsey Bonfils
Committee Chair School
Psychology
Committee Member 2
Megan Renna
Committee Member 2 School
Psychology
Committee Member 3
Daniel Capron
Committee Member 3 School
Psychology
Abstract
Poor sleep quality has been tied to worse social functioning outcomes, including greater loneliness, fewer social interactions, and lower social integration. While the relationship between sleep quality and social functioning has been investigated, other factors likely play a role in this complex relationship. Specifically, alexithymia and the use of different emotion regulation strategies may serve as moderators in the relationship between sleep and social functioning. Alexithymia and emotion regulation strategies are both related to sleep quality and social functioning. Yet, the impact of these emotional processes on the relationship between sleep and social functioning remains unexplored. Data for this study came from the Pittsburgh Cold Study 3. A social functioning composite score was created by combining measures of loneliness, social network size, social participation, and demonstrated social support. Results showed subjective sleep quality, but not objective sleep quality, was significantly related to our social functioning composite. Further, the use of reappraisal significantly moderated the relationship between subjective sleep quality and the social functioning composite. For participants who were high in use of reappraisal, worse sleep quality was related to worse scores on the social functioning composite; for participants low in the use of reappraisal, this relationship was nonsignificant. Results suggest that the use of reappraisal may be an important factor to consider in the relationship between sleep and social functioning. Future work should extend these findings to include a sample of individuals with diagnoses relevant to emotion regulation difficulties and alexithymia, namely borderline personality and schizophrenia-spectrum disorders.
Recommended Citation
Hammer, Lillian A., "The role of emotion regulation and alexithymia in the relationship between sleep and social functioning" (2023). Master's Theses. 956.
https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/956