0434 The Relationship between Spirituality and Insomnia in Military Soldiers

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Insomnia is prevalent among military soldiers and contributes to poor physical and mental health outcomes. Spirituality has been found to mitigate mental and physical health complaints; however, there is a dearth of research on its relationship with insomnia, particularly among military soldiers. Therefore, this study examined the associations between spirituality, religiosity, and insomnia in a sample of Army soldiers. Methods Data were acquired from the All Army Study of the Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (STARRS; N=21,449; mean age= 28.6; 88.24% male). Participants completed the Brief Insomnia Questionnaire, and current insomnia status was determined by DSM-5 criteria. They also completed questions on religious affiliation, how often they attend religious services, and how religious or spiritual they consider themselves on a 4-point scale (1-Very to 4-Not at all). Chi-Square analyses were used to assess the magnitude of relationships. Results A total of 19.45% of this sample had insomnia. Self-reported religious affiliation was more common in those without insomnia (73.5%) than those with insomnia (69.9%; p<.0001). Self-reported spirituality and religiosity were associated with lower rates of insomnia (p<.0001; p<.0001). However, insomnia was associated with higher rates of regular attendance of religious services (29.8% vs. 26.0%; p<.0001). Conclusion In this sample of Army servicemembers, insomnia was less prevalent among those with a religious affiliation and those with regular attendance at religious services. In contrast, individuals with insomnia reported themselves to be less religious or spiritual compared to those without insomnia. These findings underline the importance of further research to understand whether spirituality provides any protective effects against insomnia. 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). EAK’s time was supported by the U.S Department of Veterans Affairs, Rehabilitation Research and Development Service – 1IK2 RX001836.