A Study of the Relationship between Perceived Stress and Sleep Deprivation among Young Adults.

Abstract

This dissertation is an original research work conducted as part of my M.A. in Psychology (Clinical and Counselling) at MIER College of Education (Autonomous), Jammu, under the supervision of Dr. Neha Jaral. The study reflects my sincere effort to explore a concern that I believe is deeply relevant to young adults today — the toll that stress takes on our sleep, and how the two quietly feed into each other. Through this research, I hope to contribute, in a small but meaningful way, to the growing conversation around mental health and well-being among young adults in India. Sleep deprivation and perceived stress are two of the most significant psychological and public health challenges confronting young adults in contemporary society. The present study examined the relationship between perceived stress and sleep deprivation among young adults aged 18–26 years residing in India. A quantitative, cross-sectional correlational research design was adopted. A total of 196 participants (111 females, 85 males) were recruited through simple random sampling, comprising both college students and working professionals. Data were collected using two standardised self-report instruments: the Perceived Stress Scale–10 (PSS-10; Cohen, Kamarck, & Mermelstein, 1983) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI; Buysse et al., 1989). Statistical analyses were performed using IBM SPSS Statistics (Version 27), including Pearson's product-moment correlation and descriptive statistics. The findings revealed that 89.8% of participants reported moderate to high levels of perceived stress (mean PSS-10 = 20.52), and 66.3% were classified as poor sleepers (mean PSQI global score = 7.51). A statistically significant positive correlation was found between perceived stress and overall sleep quality, r (194) = .405, p < .001, indicating that higher perceived stress was associated with poorer sleep quality. Among the individual PSQI components, Daytime Dysfunction (r = .607, p < .001) and Subjective Sleep Quality (r = .401, p < .001) showed the strongest associations with perceived stress. No significant relationships were found between perceived stress and Sleep Duration or Habitual Sleep Efficiency. Gender comparisons indicated that female participants reported marginally higher perceived stress and slightly poorer sleep quality than male participants, though both groups exceeded the clinical threshold for poor sleep. xii The findings are discussed in the context of Lazarus and Folkman's (1984) Transactional Model of Stress and Coping and the Hyperarousal Model of Insomnia (Espie, 2002; Perlis et al., 1997). The results underscore the need for targeted psychological interventions addressing both stress management and sleep hygiene among young adults in India.