Correlation Between Adolescent Mental Health and Sleep Quality: A Study in Indonesian Rural Areas During the COVID-19 Pandemic

OBJECTIVE: The study aims to analyze the correlation between sleep quality and adolescent mental health in rural areas during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Bandung rural area in February 2023. The subjects were adolescents aged 12–15 years who attended high school in Sagaracipta Village. To assess mental health, the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was used. Meanwhile, sleep quality was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) questionnaire. The questionnaires were distributed and then filled in directly by the participants under close supervision. The relationship between mental problems and sleep quality was analyzed with the Spearman Rank correlation. The confidence range employed was 95%, while p< 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The results showed that at two junior high schools in Sagaracipta Village, 70.6% of the 109 subjects had poor sleep quality. Among the subjects, a significant number exhibited abnormal scores on various subscales. Specifically, 24 subjects (22%) showed abnormalities in the emotional subscales, 18 (16.5%) in conduct, 5 (4.6%) in hyperactivity, 15 (13.8%) in problems with peers, 26 (23.9%) in total difficulty, but there were no abnormal subjects on the pro-social sunscale. Based on the Rank Spearman correlation test, there was a statistically significant correlation between sleep quality and the emotional, behavioral, hyperactivity, and overall difficulties subscales, with coefficients of 0.247; 0.258; 0.22; and 0.310 as well as p-values of 0.010; 0.007; 0.021; and 0.001 respectively. CONCLUSION: During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a correlation between mental health and sleep quality among adolescents in rural area.