Date of Award:

5-2026

Document Type:

Dissertation

Degree Name:

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department:

Psychology

Committee Chair(s)

Michael P. Twohig

Committee

Michael P. Twohig

Committee

Michael E. Levin

Committee

Elizabeth B. Fauth

Committee

Karen Muñoz

Committee

Maria Kleinstäuber

Abstract

College students are shown to have more sleep difficulties, specifically insomnia. These sleep difficulties compared to the general public due to the college environment (for example increase screen time, sedentary time, or alcohol use). Students with reported sleep difficulties have ties to lower GPA and lower odds of graduation. That is why this dissertation conducted a comparison between an online version of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (intervention) to a placebo condition among college students with insomnia to help determine if the intervention had better outcomes over time. Each condition (intervention = 39; placebo = 40) completed questionnaires at the start of the study, post-treatment (end of week 4), and then 1 month following post-treatment. Results showed insomnia severity, psychological inflexibility/flexibility, insomnia related worries, and depression had better outcomes in the intervention condition over time compared to the waitlist condition. These results, suggest that universities should offer Acceptance and Commitment Therapy providers at college counseling to help treat insomnia.

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