Authors: Kendra Johnson
Mentors: Dannelle Larsen-Rife
Insitution: Utah Tech University
This study's objective is to examine how sleep quality is related to attachment and any moderating effect from social support. Sleep quality affects multiple aspects of life including physical and mental health. About 40% of the population is affected by sleep complaints (Palagini et al., 2018). Over time, disturbed sleep can become a risk factor for mental illness and substance use disorders (Adams et al., 2014). According to Gur-Yaish et al., (2020), negative interactions related to attachment disturbances negatively affected sleep quality. Individuals with insecure attachment may be more prone to insomnia and sleep disturbances (Palagini et al., 2018). People with anxious attachment have difficulty trusting that others will be there for them when they are in need. Insecure attachment is measured on two scales: anxious and avoidant. Because of this fear, people with insecure attachment may engage in behaviors intended to reassure them of the other person’s trustworthiness. An individual with avoidant attachment tends to resist close relationships, fearing that others are not reliable (Bowlby 1982). Adults in romantic relationships tend to behave similarly to children and mothers when it comes to attachment pairing (Fraley & Shaver, 1998). When people have insecure attachment, they may be highly activated by relationship ruptures, leaving them anxious and vulnerable to poor sleep quality. The resulting poor sleep quality may be moderated by high levels of outside social support, though with high attachment avoidance, the benefits of social support are less influential. Participants (N = 94) completed the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised (ECR-RS) scale to measure attachment, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and the Social Support Questionnaire-Short Form (SSQ6). Findings reveal that though the correlation between insecure attachment and sleep was small, the addition of social support revealed some interesting patterns that give insight to the relationship between attachment, sleep, and the effects of social support.