The relationship between loneliness and sleep quality: multiple chain mediating roles.

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between loneliness and sleep quality and its intrinsic mediating mechanism. The UCLA Loneliness Scale, Ruminative Responses Scale, Mobile Phone Addiction Index Scale, as well as the Depression-Anxiety-Stress Scale and Self-Rating Scale of Sleep were used to investigate 1145 college students. Results showed that: (1) Loneliness, rumination, negative affect, mobile phone addiction and sleep quality were all significantly and positively correlated with each other; (2) Five mediating pathways existed for the effect of loneliness on sleep quality: the separate mediation of negative affect; the partial mediation of rumination and negative affect, rumination and mobile phone addiction, negative affect and mobile phone addiction; the chain mediation of rumination, negative affect, and mobile phone addiction, with a total mediating effect value of 0.22, accounting for 73.33% of the total effect (direct effect of 0.08); (3) The mediating effect of loneliness on sleep quality exhibits cross-gender consistency. In conclusion, loneliness has a significant predictive effect on sleep quality, which is manifested through the mediating effects of negative affect, rumination, and mobile phone addiction, with negative affect alone mediating the greatest effect, and the study provides a new intervention perspective for improving sleep quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]