Mediating effect of sleep satisfaction on the relationship between stress and self-rated health among Korean adolescents: A nationwide cross-sectional study

Abstract

This study examined the mediating effects of sleep satisfaction on the relationship between stress and self-rated health among adolescents in Korea. This study performed a secondary analysis of cross-sectional data from the 14th Korea Youth Risk Behavior Survey (2018). The participants were 60,040 middle and high school students from 800 schools in Korea aged 12–18, who completed an anonymously self-administered online survey collecting data on stress, sleep satisfaction, and self-rated health, as well as socio-demographic, health-related, and disease-related characteristics. Data were analyzed using complex samples descriptive statistics and general linear model. Mediating effects were analyzed using Baron and Kenny's procedures and the Sobel test with the complex sample general linear model. Associations between stress, sleep satisfaction, and self-rated health were found (p < 0.001). Sleep satisfaction had a significant mediating effect on the relationship between stress and self-rated health (p < 0.001). This was the first study to identify the mediating effect of sleep satisfaction between stress and self-rated health among Korean adolescents. In order to enhance the self-rated health of Korean adolescents, it is necessary to develop a strategy to improve sleep satisfaction.