ABSTRACT
Increased constraints and lost opportunities inherent in the COVID-19 pandemic can threaten important life goals and erode emotional well-being. Theories of lifespan development have identified goal adjustment capacities (goal disengagement and goal reengagement) as core self-regulatory resources that can buffer against declines in well-being. However, little is known about the pandemic-related contextual circumstances under which goal adjustment capacities may become more or less beneficial for well-being. Using longitudinal data from a nationally-representative sample of Americans across the adult lifespan (aged 18-80, n=286), we examined the consequences of goal adjustment capacities for emotional well-being under circumstances when individuals reported lower or higher constraints than normal in their lives. Specifically, multilevel models tested whether the influence of between-person differences in (Level 2) goal disengagement and goal reengagement on well-being were moderated by (Level 1) within-person fluctuations in perceived constraints. Analyses controlled for age, sex, education, and income. We observed cross-level Goal Reengagement x Perceived Constraints interactions for depressive symptoms, perceived stress, and positive affect (bs = -.11 to .07, ps < .05), but not negative affect. Results showed that the benefits of goal reengagement for depressive symptoms, perceived stress, and positive affect were pronounced on occasions when participants reported lower (vs. higher) than average perceived constraints in their lives. Findings point to the moderating role of pandemic-related contextual circumstances and suggest that goal reengagement may be most beneficial when individuals have fewer constraints than usual in their lives and may thus able to capitalize on opportunities to pursue new attainable goals.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted sleep, with some populations such as essential workers reporting insomnia and poor sleep health. Prior research has suggested (but not tested) that this worsening of sleep may be tied to a lack of control over one's health or safety during the pandemic. This study tests this prediction and examines the role of perceived control as a protective factor against poor sleep in essential workers. Methods: This study uses data from the NDSU National COVID Study, which has followed 301 nationally-representative American adults across four waves of data collection since April 2020. The current analysis includes data from wave 1 (April 2020) in 279 participants who had complete demographic, essential worker, perceived control (including domain general perceived control as well as health, COVID, work-specific control), and sleep health (RU SATED) data. Using t-tests and correlations, we hypothesized: (1) sleep health would be worse in essential workers compared with others;(2) perceived control would relate to better sleep health;and (3) perceived control would be a stronger predictor of sleep health in essential workers relative to others. Results: There were no significant differences in sleep health between essential workers (N=44, M=8.27, SD=2.72) and others (N=235, M=8.46, SD=2.54;t=-0.44, p=.66). In the full sample, all indices of perceived control were significantly related to better sleep health (rs=.17-.31, ps<.004). Associations were stronger in essential workers (N=44, rs=.30-.56, ps<.05) than in others (N=235, rs=.13- .31, ps<.04). In sensitivity analyses that excluded participants not working for pay (e.g., people who were unemployed, retired, or receiving disability) from the other category, moderation effects were stronger;only COVID-related perceived control was significantly related to sleep health (N=110;r=.24, p=.01) in non-essential workers. Conclusion: This is the first study to demonstrate links between perceived control and sleep. Although sleep health was not significantly different between essential and non-essential workers, we found that perceived control was especially beneficial for essential workers' sleep. Our results suggest interventions to improve perceived control, a modifiable psychosocial resource, might improve sleep health for essential workers.