Time spent following the Russian-Ukranian war (RUW) and psychological distress: The role of sleep problems.

Background: The Russian-Ukranian war (RUW) broke in 2022. Finland is a neighboring country of Russia. People in Finland could be assumed to be especially vulnerable to war-related stress. We examined the relationship between time spent following the RUW from media, sleep problems and psychological distress in university students. Methods: The participants were university students who responded anonymously to a questionnaire. They reported their age, gender, time spent following RUW, anxiety, depressive symptoms, and sleep problems. Statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS and Mplus for structural equation modeling. Results: The time spent following RUW from media was associated with greater psychological distress, and more sleep disturbances. Sleep disturbances accounted for more than 12% of the association between time spent following RUW and psychological distress. Conclusions: Present findings suggest that sleep problems should be taken into account when supporting students. Support programs should emphasize the importance of sleep in psychological well-being.