Article Correctness Is Author's Responsibility: Sleep problems and religious coping as possible mediators of the association between tropical storm exposure and psychological functioning among emerging adults in Dominica.

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Although extensive research over the past several decades has assessed psychological correlates of natural disasters (e.g., posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD], rumination), there remains a dearth of studies that examine specific mediators of these associations. The present study examined sleep problems and religious coping as two, independent mechanisms that may explain why higher exposure to tropical storm Erika may be linked to rumination, PTSD, difficulties with emotion regulation, and posttraumatic growth (PTG). Participants were 174 (M = 18.73 years old, SD = 1.51; 66.1% female) emerging adults from the Caribbean island of Dominica, who completed an online survey as part of a mixed-methods cross-sectional study on stress, coping, and psychological functioning 6 months after tropical storm Erika. Path analysis models indicated significant indirect paths from storm exposure to rumination, emotion regulation, and PTG through sleep problems (controlling for gender, parent employment, diet, resilience, sleep duration, and chronotype). Furthermore, there were significant indirect paths from storm exposure to rumination, PTSD symptoms, and PTG through religious coping (controlling for gender, parent employment, diet, resilience, purpose in life, and frequency of church attendance). Unexpectedly, however, religious coping was associated with higher rumination and PTSD. Findings highlight the important role of sleep problems and religious coping as potential mechanisms that may explain variability in psychological functioning in the aftermath of natural disasters, particularly among an understudied population of youth who are prone to natural disasters. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)