Sleep-Related Concerns Mediate the Association Between Cyber-Sexual Victimization and Psychological Distress Among...

Experiences of cyber-sexual violence, that is, sexually aggressive behaviors committed through digital interfaces, are associated with posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and suicidality. Several variables, including sleep, also contribute to PTSS and suicidality risk. This cross-sectional study expands what is already known about cyber-sexual violence and psychological distress by investigating associations between cyber-sexual victimization, sleep-related concerns, PTSS, and suicidality among diverse university students. A total of 2,160 university students aged 18-25 (M_age = 20.09 years, 68.8 percent women) completed assessments of demographic variables, cyber-sexual victimization, PTSS, suicidality, and sleep-related concerns. Students with marginalized sexual or gender identities reported significantly higher levels of cyber-sexual victimization, sleep-related concerns, PTSS, and suicidality compared with heterosexual and cisgender students. Two mediation analyses were conducted with cyber-sexual victimization as the independent variable, PTSS and suicidality as the outcomes, sleep-related concerns as a mediator, and gender identity and sexual orientation as covariates. Cyber-sexual victimization was directly related to PTSS (β = 0.37, CI = [3.88, 4.86]) and sleep-related concerns mediated this association (β = 0.07, CI = [0.06, 0.09]). Cyber-sexual victimization was also directly related to suicidality (β = 0.31, CI = [1.30, 1.71]) and sleep-related concerns mediated this association (β = 0.05, CI = [0.03, 0.06]) as well. These findings highlight cyber-sexual violence as a risk factor for poorer psychological well-being among university students. In addition, sleep-related concerns helped explain these associations, suggesting that evidence-based sleep interventions may improve psychological distress in the context of trauma-related symptoms.