Stress and Sleep Problems as Predictors of Mental Health among Chittagong University Students

Abstract

University students today are facing a variety of challenges, such as stress, sleep problems, mental health issues, etc. which are hampering their academic and personal lives. To address this issue the purpose of the study was to investigate stress, sleep difficulty and mental health of university students according to gender and residential status. A convenience sample of 500 students from Chittagong University was recruited to participate in the study. Measuring instruments used in this study were Perceived Stress Questionnaire developed by Keya (2006), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) developed by Buysse et al. (1989) and adapted by Singha (2018) and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) developed by Goldberg and Williams (1988) and adapted by Sorcar and Rahman (1990). Data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, t-test, Pearson product moment correlation and regression. The findings indicated that female students reported higher levels of stress and sleep difficulty compared to male students. Stress and sleep difficulty were significantly positively correlated, suggesting that higher stress was associated with greater sleep difficulty. Mental health was significantly negatively correlated with both stress and sleep difficulty, indicating that higher stress and sleep difficulty were associated with poorer mental health. Multiple regression analysis revealed that both stress and sleep difficulty were significant predictors of mental health, with stress emerging as the stronger predictor. It can be suggested that, both university authorities and students should take proper interventions to reduce stress and sleep difficulty and promote mental health.

Chittagong Univ. J. B. Sci. Vol. 13 (1&2): 102-110, 2025