Dr. Mona El-Sheikh, Leonard Peterson & Co., Inc. Professor in Human Development & Family Science, published an article in Sleep that found longer and better quality sleep protected against anxiety and depression symptoms for adolescents experiencing general or racial discrimination, particularly for females. To read the full study, click here.
Congratulations to Dr. El-Sheikh, as well as coauthors Megan Zeringue, recent Post-Doctoral Research Scholar, Ekjyot Saini, Doctoral Candidate, and Tom Fuller-Rowell, Associate Professor.
Discrimination and adjustment in adolescence: the moderating role of sleep
Study Objectives
We examined multiple actigraphy-based sleep parameters as moderators of associations between experiences of general and racial discrimination and adolescent internalizing symptoms (anxiety, depression) and externalizing behavior (rule-breaking). Adolescent sex and race were examined as additional moderators.
Methods
Participants were 272 adolescents (Mage = 17.3 years, SD = 0.76; 51% male; 59% White/European American, 41% Black/African American). Sleep was assessed using actigraphs for 7 consecutive nights from which sleep duration (minutes), efficiency, and variability in minutes over the week were derived. Youth reported on their experiences of general discrimination, racial discrimination, anxiety, depressive symptoms, and rule-breaking behavior.
Results
Both types of discrimination were associated with poorer adjustment outcomes. Longer sleep duration, greater sleep efficiency, and less variability in sleep duration were protective in associations between race-specific and general discrimination and internalizing symptoms. Findings for duration and efficiency were more pronounced for females such that the adverse effects of discrimination were minimized among females with longer and more efficient sleep. Greater variability in sleep exacerbated rule-breaking behavior among adolescents experiencing general or racial discrimination. Associations did not differ by adolescent race.
Conclusions
Short and poor-quality sleep may exacerbate internalizing symptoms for adolescents experiencing discrimination, particularly females. Variability in sleep duration was a key moderator of associations between discrimination and internalizing symptoms as well as rule-breaking behavior. Findings illustrate that actigraphy-assessed sleep parameters play a key role in ameliorating or exacerbating adjustment problems associated with discrimination.
