Psychosocial stress, adult suicidal ideation, and the mediating effect of poor sleep quality during the COVID‐19 pandemic in South Africa

Abstract

AbstractObjectivesSouth Africa instituted one of the world's strictest lockdowns during the COVID‐19 pandemic, which generated heightened conditions of psychosocial stress and posed widespread mental health risks. Despite the elevated burdens of suicidal behaviors and risk of psychiatric disease in the country, few studies have examined the impacts of psychosocial stress from the pandemic on suicidal ideation in South Africa. This study examined the association between psychosocial stress experienced under the COVID‐19 pandemic and adult suicidal ideation, as well as degree to which sleep quality and duration mediated this relationship.MethodsAn online survey assessed experiences of COVID‐19 psychosocial stress, sleep quality and duration, and suicidal ideation in a sample of 189 South African adults during the second and third waves of the COVID‐19 pandemic. A causal inference framework for mediation analysis was used to assess the degree to which sleep quality and duration explained the association between COVID‐19 psychosocial stress and suicidal ideation.ResultsSuicidal ideation was reported in 21% of adults. Adults described having moderate sleep quality and an average of 6.9 hours of sleep per night. COVID‐19 psychosocial stress significantly predicted adult suicidal ideation in fully adjusted models. Sleep quality, but not sleep duration, significantly mediated the association between COVID‐19 psychosocial stress and suicidal ideation, accounting for 25.9% of the total effect.ConclusionsPoor sleep quality may play an important role in exacerbating the alarming stress‐induced mental health effects of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Further research is necessary to understand the underlying sleep dynamics and associated psychological and neurobiological processes that perpetuate adult suicidal ideation.