Social jetlag and quality of life among nursing students: A cross-sectional study

Aims To investigate chronotype categories and social jetlag among nursing students and to identify associations between rhythm asynchrony and participants' physical and psychological health, academic performance and quality of life. Background Social jetlag refers to the asynchrony between chronotypes and social working hours, resulting in a misalignment of biological and social time. Recent studies have reported possible changes in psychosocial functioning owing to social jetlag. Therefore, the present study investigated chronotypes and the extent of social jetlag among nursing students. Design A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2015 with a sample of 346 nursing students in two universities in Korea. Methods Social jetlag and quality of life were measured with the Munich Chronotype Questionnaire and the abbreviated version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale, respectively, in the year 2015. Data analysis was mainly based on a multiple regression to identify social jetlag's influence on students' quality of life. Results Average social jetlag was 1 hr - 36 min. Social jetlag was negatively correlated with chronotype, academic performance and quality of life. A multiple regression analysis revealed that social jetlag, a positive emotional state, recovery resilience and depressive symptoms affected students' quality of life. These variables accounted for 41.7% of the variance in quality of life. Conclusions Results suggest that decreases in social jetlag and depressive symptoms, as well as increases in the positive emotional state and recovery resilience, enhance students' quality of life.