Cognitive flexibility, mental health status, and sleep quality in adults with psychosocial vulnerability: The moderating role of risk factors for COVID-19

Abstract

PurposeThis study is aimed to investigate the direct and indirect effects of cognitive flexibility on mental health status and sleep quality with regard to the mediating role of risk factors for COVID-19 based on Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) in adults with psychosocial vulnerability. MethodsThe participants of this study were 500 individuals that were selected by an availability sampling method within a cross-sectional study. A demographic questionnaire, the Cognitive Flexibility Inventory (CFI), the Risk Factor Checklist for COVID-19 (RFCCOVID), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and the Symptom Checklist (SCL-25) were used for data collection. ResultsThe SEM showed that cognitive flexibility plus risk factors for COVID-19 explain 11.8% of mental health status and 25.6% of sleep quality variations in adults. ConclusionThis conceptual model for the direct and indirect role of cognitive flexibility with the moderating influence of risk factors for COVID-19 on psychopathological and sleep problems is valuable for psychotherapeutic interventions and prevention programs in adults.