(PS3-19) Interactions of Sleep and Social Problem-solving Among Depressed College Students at Baseline and During Ecological Momentary Assessment

Abstract Text: Previous research has shown that difficulties with social problem-solving are associated with depression and that sleep is implicated in both depression and social problem-solving deficits. While previous research has established a link between depression, social problem-solving deficits, and sleep separately, there is a growing need to explore the interaction between these three constructs, in particular, how sleep patterns influence social problem-solving abilities in individuals with depression . Such an understanding could highlight sleep behaviors as an important target and contribute to improvement in social problem-solving in the context of depression. Therefore, the goal of this study is to empirically assess associations over time between social problem-solving and sleep in depressed individuals to understand how poor sleep may function to maintain depression through diminished problem-solving skills. Seventy college students endorsed depression at prescreen (≥ 2 on the PHQ-2) and were included in analyses from a larger sample of 111 (69% female sex assigned at birth; 76.1% White; 16.9% Hispanic; 9.9% Asian; 5.6% Black/African American; 7% Other; mean age = 19.4 years old (SD = 1.8)). Participants completed baseline self-report measures via a Qualtrics survey assessing depressive symptoms through the BDI-II, social problem-solving through the SPSI-R, and sleep quality/quantity through the PSQI and then completed 4 surveys per day assessing these same constructs for 14 days via ecological momentary assessment (EMA). At baseline, greater hours of sleep and better sleep quality over the past month were correlated with better social problem-solving (r = -.278, p = .020; r =-.282, p = .018). Furthermore, more hours of sleep was associated with more rational problem-solving (r = -.316, p = .008) and worse sleep quality was associated with more avoidance as a problem-solving strategy (r = .366, p = .002). EMA data collection has been completed and is currently being cleaned. EMA analyses to be reported at the time of the conference will include multilevel models examining within-person and between-person effects of problem solving and their interaction with daily sleep quality/quantity predicting momentary experiences of sadness.