Fear of COVID-19, insomnia, and eating disorder symptoms among Iranian college students

Reza N Sahlan; Shruti S Kinkel-Ram; Kelechi Uzoegwu; April Smith

doi:10.1016/j.jadr.2023.100601

Fear of COVID-19, insomnia, and eating disorder symptoms among Iranian college students

J Affect Disord Rep. 2023 Jul:13:100601. doi: 10.1016/j.jadr.2023.100601. Epub 2023 May 20.

Authors

Reza N Sahlan¹, Shruti S Kinkel-Ram², Kelechi Uzoegwu², April Smith³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Counseling, School, and Educational Psychology, Graduate School of Education, University at Buffalo-SUNY, Buffalo, NY, United States.
² Miami University, Department of Psychology, Oxford, Ohio, United States.
³ Auburn University, Department of Psychology, Auburn, AL, United States.

Abstract

Objective: Eating disorders (EDs), fear of COVID-19, and insomnia have all increased during the COVID-19 pandemic in Western societies. Additionally, fear of COVID-19 and sleep disturbances relate to ED symptoms in Western societies. However, it is unknown whether fear of COVID-19 and insomnia relate to ED symptoms in non-Western countries, such as Iran. Thus, this study examined the relation between fear of COVID-19, insomnia, and ED symptoms among Iranian college students. Specifically, we hypothesized that insomnia and fear of COVID-19 would each uniquely relate to ED symptoms and the interaction between insomnia and fear of COVID-19 would also associate with increased ED symptoms.

Method: College students (N =1,043) filled out measures assessing fear of COVID-19, insomnia, and ED symptoms. We ran moderation analyses using linear regression for global ED symptoms and negative binomial regressions for binge eating and purging.

Results: Fear of COVID-19 and insomnia had unique effects on global ED symptoms and binge eating. Insomnia, but not fear of COVID-19, had a unique effect on purging. No significant interaction effect was found.

Discussion: This study was the first to examine the association between fear of COVID-19 and insomnia on ED symptoms in Iran. Fear of COVID-19 and insomnia should be incorporated into novel assessments and treatments for EDs.

Keywords: Binge eating; College students; Fear of COVID-19; Global eating disorder symptoms; Insomnia; Purging.