Impact of Rumination and Psychological Distress on the Quality of Sleep: A Moderated Role of Resilience in Community Adults

Objectives: In this study, we investigated how resilience influences the relationships between rumination, psychological distress and sleep quality. Methods: We recruited participants living in Kaohsiung, Taiwan through posters and online advertisements. In this cross-sectional research, 408 individuals filled out the Ruminative Response Scale (RRS), the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-25), the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) scale and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) during the period from February 24 to July 20, 2024. Results: The PROCESS macro revealed that resilience significantly moderated the impact on the associations of various rumination domains, including reflection, depression-related, brooding and sleep quality, respectively (b = −0.002, p < .001; b = −0.003, p = .013; b = −0.009, p < .01). The positive connection between psychological distress and sleep quality was moderated by resilience (b = −0.002, p < .05). Conclusions: Resilience may weaken the positive relationship between domains of rumination and sleep quality. Resilience indicated a moderating effect that reduced the positive relationship between psychological distress and sleep quality. Interventions aimed at lessening levels of rumination, diminishing psychological distress, and improving resilience may be able to better the sleep quality of community adults.