ABSTRACT
Background COVID-19 quarantine has been associated with increased sleep problems and prolonged psychological responses to the pandemic could mediate this relationship. The present study attempted to examine the mediating role of COVID-19 mental impact and distress between quarantine and sleep disturbance. Methods The present study recruited 438 adults (109 with quarantine experience) in Hong Kong via an online survey between August and October 2021. The respondents completed a self-report questionnaire on quarantine, Mental Impact and Distress Scale: COVID-19 (MIDc), and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). The MIDc was treated as a latent mediator and continuous PSQI factor and poor sleep quality (PSQI score > 5) were the study outcomes. We evaluated the direct and indirect effects of quarantine on sleep disturbance via MIDc using structural equation modeling. Analyses were adjusted for gender, age, education level, knowing confirmed COVID-19 cases, COVID-19 frontline work, and primary income source of the family. Results More than half (62.8%) of the sample reported poor sleep quality. Quarantine was associated with significantly higher levels of MIDc and sleep disturbance (Cohen d = 0.23 – 0.43, p < 0.05). In the structural equation model, the MIDc mediated the relationship between quarantine and sleep disturbance (αβ = 0.152, 95% CI = 0.071 to 0.235). Quarantine significantly increased the proportion of poor sleep quality by 10.7% (95% CI = 0.050 to 0.171) indirectly via MIDc. Conclusions The results provide empirical support to the mediating role of the MIDc as psychological responses in the relationship between quarantine and sleep disturbance.
ABSTRACT
Background: COVID-19 quarantine has been associated with increased sleep problems and prolonged psychological responses to the pandemic could mediate this relationship. The present study attempted to examine the mediating role of COVID-19 mental impact and distress between quarantine and sleep disturbance. Methods: The present study recruited 438 adults (109 with quarantine experience) in Hong Kong via an online survey between August and October 2021. The respondents completed a self-report questionnaire on quarantine, Mental Impact and Distress Scale: COVID-19 (MIDc), and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). The MIDc was treated as a latent mediator and continuous PSQI factor and poor sleep quality (PSQI score > 5) were the study outcomes. We evaluated the direct and indirect effects of quarantine on sleep disturbance via MIDc using structural equation modeling. Analyses were adjusted for gender, age, education level, knowing confirmed COVID-19 cases, COVID-19 frontline work, and primary income source of the family. Results: More than half (62.8%) of the sample reported poor sleep quality. Quarantine was associated with significantly higher levels of MIDc and sleep disturbance (Cohen d = 0.23 - 0.43, p < 0.05). In the structural equation model, the MIDc mediated the relationship between quarantine and sleep disturbance (αß = 0.152, 95% CI = 0.071 to 0.235). Quarantine significantly increased the proportion of poor sleep quality by 10.7% (95% CI = 0.050 to 0.171) indirectly via MIDc. Conclusions: The results provide empirical support to the mediating role of the MIDc as psychological responses in the relationship between quarantine and sleep disturbance.
ABSTRACT
The Mental Impact and Distress Scale: COVID-19 (MIDc) was constructed and validated by one of the first pandemic-impact research teams in February 2020 and aims to assess psychosocial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of the present research was to determine the psychometric properties of the MIDc's Brazilian form and outline a sociodemographic profile of the pandemic's psychosocial impact in a Brazilian sample. Altogether, 1004 Brazilians living in different regions of Brazil completed an online survey. The adapted Brazilian version presented significant validity and reliability as assessed by exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, Cronbach alpha and Spearman-Brown coefficients, and associations with related psychological measures. Even though the Brazilian version differs from a previous (Macau) version, it contains both anticipation (i.e., the mental engagement processes of managing the unknowns) and modulation (i.e., the mental processes of insulation being activated to maintain a sense of normalcy) factors. Findings indicate greater vulnerability to modulation among younger and female participants. Black participants and those with lower family income were more prone to be economically impacted. Participants living in isolation were more vulnerable to anticipation. Thus, the COVID-19 pandemic was found to differentially affect gender, ethnic, and social groups in Brazil.