Association between autistic traits and sleep quality among Chinese junior high school students: The chain mediating roles of self‐control and mindfulness

To explore the relationships between autistic traits, self‐control, mindfulness, and sleep quality, and the mechanism underlying these relationships, we recruited a sample of 972 junior high school students who completed a survey consisting of the Chinese version of the Comprehensive Autistic Trait Inventory‐short form, Self‐Control Scale, Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure, and Sleep Condition Indicator. The correlation analyses revealed that autistic traits were significantly negatively correlated with self‐control, mindfulness, and sleep quality. Conversely, self‐control was significantly positively correlated with mindfulness and sleep quality in junior high school students. Mediation analyses indicated that self‐control and mindfulness play a chain‐mediating role in the association between autistic traits and sleep quality among junior high school students. In conclusion, enhancing levels of self‐control and mindfulness is essential for improving sleep quality among junior high school students with high levels of autistic traits. Practitioner points Autistic traits can negatively predict sleep quality. Self‐control and mindfulness separately mediate the association between autistic traits and sleep quality. Self‐control and mindfulness sequentially mediate the association between autistic traits and sleep quality.