Nancy L. Digdon

College Students Who Have an Eveningness Preference Report Lower Self‐Control and Greater Procrastination

Previous research suggests a possible link between eveningness and general difficulties with self‐regulation (e.g., evening types are more likely than other chronotypes to have irregular sleep schedules and social rhythms and use substances). Our study investigated the relationship between eveningness and self‐regulation by using two standardized measures of self‐regulation: the Self‐Control Scale and the Procrastination Scale. We predicted that an eveningness preference would be associated with poorer self‐control and greater procrastination than would an intermediate or morningness preference. Participants were 308 psychology students (mean age=19.92 yrs) at a small Canadian college. Students completed the self‐regulation questionnaires and Morningness/Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ) online. The mean MEQ score was 46.69 (SD=8.20), which is intermediate between morningness and eveningness. MEQ scores ranged from definite morningness to definite eveningness, but the dispersion of scores was skewed toward more eveningness. Pearson and partial correlations (controlling for age) were used to assess the relationship between MEQ score and the Self‐Control Scale (global score and 5 subscale scores) and Procrastination Scale (global score). All correlations were significant. The magnitude of the effects was medium for all measures except one of the Self‐Control subscales, which was small. A multiple regression analysis to predict MEQ score using the Self‐Control Scale (global score), Procrastination Scale, and age as predictors indicated the Self‐Control Scale was a significant predictor (accounting for 20% of the variance). A multiple regression analysis to predict MEQ scores using the five subscales of the Self‐Control Scale and age as predictors showed the subscales for reliability and work ethic were significant predictors (accounting for 33% of the variance). Our study showed a relationship between eveningness and low self‐control, but it did not address whether the relationship is a causal one.

Circadian preference and college students' beliefs about sleep education.

The current study used social cognitive theory as a conceptual framework to investigate whether college students’ beliefs about their sleep were compatible with sleep education, and whether incompatibility was greater for evening than morning or intermediate types. Students at a Canadian college (n = 499) completed an investigator-designed measure of outcome expectancies about how their sleep is affected by recommended sleep practices, self-efficacy beliefs about the ease of implementing the recommendations, a question about sleep status (i.e., good sleeper/poor sleeper), and the Composite Scale of Morningness (CSM). Contrary to predictions, outcome expectations of evening types did not differ from those of morning or intermediate types for 24 of the 26 items. Chi square tests indicated that most students’ beliefs about the effects of sleep scheduling, caffeine consumption, sleep environment, and bedtime arousal were compatible with sleep education, whereas those about exercising, doing stimulating or important work close to bedtime, or using their beds for studying or watching TV were incompatible with sleep education. Consistent with predictions, ANOVA results indicated that global self-efficacy scores of evening types were lower, as were their item scores pertaining to sleep scheduling (i.e., napping, bedtimes, rise times, and staying in bed too long) and cognitive arousal in bed (i.e., thinking, worrying, or problem solving in bed or going to bed stressed, angry, nervous, or upset) than were those of intermediate or morning types. Results of an ANCOVA showed that evening preference was associated with poorer self-efficacy when differences in sleep status were controlled. Finally, Pearson correlations and stepwise multiple regression showed evening preference and describing oneself as a poor sleeper both contributed to low self-efficacy. These findings are relevant to the refinement of sleep education. Content included in sleep education needs to consider what students already know about sleep so that education is relevant, credible, and not redundant. Sleep education also needs to address lower self-efficacy of evening types for implementing sleep recommendations. Conclusions reported in this study should be considered tentative because they were based on a single Canadian sample using a novel measure. The generalizability of the results remains to be determined. (Author correspondence: digdonn@macewan.ca)

University students' motives for drinking alcohol are related to evening preference, poor sleep, and ways of coping with stress

Does evening circadian preference predict university students’ motives for drinking alcohol (i.e. social, enhancement, conformity, or coping motives)? Drinking to cope, which is associated with alcohol problems, may be more common in evening types because of their sleep problems and difficulties in dealing with stress. Two hundred and nineteen university students (M age = 21.80, SD = 6.80) completed online the Composite Scale of Morningness, the Drinking Motives Questionnaire Revised, the Sleep Quality Scale, the COPE measure of coping with stress, a measure of socially desirable responding, and gave information about gender and age. Evening preference was associated with greater use of all drinking motives, and with poorer sleep and poorer coping with stress. Multiple regression showed that drinking to cope was best predicted by poor sleep, social drinking, and avoidant coping with stress (R 2 = 0.45). Poor sleep and drinking to cope are a cause for concern because of possible reciprocal causality.