The Moderating Influence of Anxiety Status on the Relationship between Social Media Use and Sleep Quality among College Student Women

Abstract

Previous research has found that poor sleep quality and mental health outcomes, like anxiety, are often linked to social media use, with women seemingly being affected more than men. Given the dearth of studies related to such featuring college student samples, the present project explored the relationship among these variables. A recently collected archival dataset which featured cross-sectional data from 162 college student women was analyzed. The dataset contained self-report measures of sleep quality, anxiety, and social media use. Results revealed significant differences in sleep quality as a function of anxiety grouping. Null findings were observed related to social media use; however, given the very poor internal consistency observed among the social media use data, no meaningful interpretation of these findings can be made. Limitations and future directions are discussed.