0156 Personality traits and chronicity of insomnia among soldiers

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Within the behavioral model of insomnia, predisposing factors can increase vulnerability to developing problems sleep. One predisposing factor is personality characteristics and past research has identified associations between traits such as rumination/worry and perfectionism with insomnia. Past studies have not considered the chronicity of insomnia and its association with personality characteristics. The goal of this study was to examine the association between chronicity of insomnia and a wide range of personality traits to identify a risk profile for chronic sleep disturbance. Methods Data were acquired from the New Soldier Study(NSS) components of the Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Service members(Army STARRS), which collected survey data from soldiers newly recruited to the military(N=38,348; 20.9 (3.5) years old; 82.8% male). The data captures information regarding soldiers sleep, personal characteristics and mental health symptoms. Participants reported on lifetime history of insomnia with a frequency of at least 3 nights/week as well as the number of years they have experienced insomnia. Items also assessed a range of personality traits. A stepwise selection model was used to identify a profile of personality traits associated with chronicity of insomnia. Results Lifetime history of insomnia was very high at 88.7%, with a mean(SD) duration of insomnia mean (SD)=3.0(2.4) years. The selection model identified three personality traits significantly associated with duration of insomnia: feeling empty inside, the need to rely more heavily on friends for emotional support, and being scared of things most people are (all p< 0.05). Conclusion These results demonstrate that, among new Army soldiers, those who have experienced chronic problems with insomnia endorse feeling empty inside leading to them stating either they are not scared of most things (increase in risk taking) or need to rely heavily on others for emotional support. Consistent with previous research, these data suggest that emotional instability is linked to poorer sleep quality. Support (if any) This publication is based on public use data from Army STARRS(Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research, University of Michigan-http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR35197-v1), funded by U.S. NIMH-U01MH087981. KEM’s time was supported by the U.S Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration (Clinical Science Research and Development Service – IK2 CX001874).