Personality and insomnia: The role of gender

Introduction Several epidemiological studies have been conducted to document the prevalence and correlates of insomnia. Most of them confirm their high prevalence in the general population, and a gender difference in the risk for insomnia. Aims To study the role of gender in the relationship between personality (perfectionism and neuroticism) and insomnia ([IG] insomnia group, [ISG] insomnia symptoms group, and [GSG] good sleepers group). Methods A total of 549 college students (80.1% females) filled in the MPS (Frost et al., 1990; Hewitt and Flett, 1991), EPI (Barton et al., 1992, 1995), and a self-reported questionnaire to assess insomnia symptoms. Results No differences were found between female and male samples, concerning the dimension of perfectionism – doubts about actions. The IG and the ISG showed higher levels of doubts about actions than the GSG. However, only in female sample the IG and the ISG showed higher levels of concern over mistakes in comparison with the GSG. In males, no significant differences between the sleep groups were found, in which respects concern over mistakes. The level of extroversion was higher in the GSG, but only in male sample. In females, there were no significant differences between the sleep groups in relation to extroversion. Conclusions No gender differences were found for the role of doubts about actions in insomnia. Only in females, the dimension – concern over mistakes is important in insomnia, and only in males the dimension – extroversion is important to have a good sleep. These results warrant further research.