Discrimination and adjustment in adolescence: the moderating role of sleep

Abstract

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.

Ethnic/racial discrimination and academic grades among adolescents: moderation by sleep regularity

“…As expected, a higher SRI was associated with better grades, underscoring the importance of regular sleep patterns for academic performance. This finding is significant because although sleep regularity has been linked to cognitive and emotion regulation processes (Bei et al, 2022;Philbrook et al, 2021), there is less research linking sleep regularity to academic outcomes. Of note, participants with higher sleep regularity also had earlier bedtimes and earlier wake times, suggesting that adolescents with routine sleep schedules may do so while accommodating the demands of early morning school start times.…”

“…Thus, the SRI measures may contribute unique insight into the behavioural health patterns, whereas TST simply reflects how much sleep adolescents obtain. Scholars have begun to consider the impact of the SRI on a host of related outcomes including white matter activity, emotion regulation, cognitive functioning, circadian misalignment, hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal activity, and cardiovascular health (Bei et al, 2022; Philbrook et al, 2021). As such, it is increasingly important to distinguish the unique contributions of the SRI and TST to capture a more nuanced understanding of how sleep is implicated in developmental processes, and ultimately inform more targeted approaches to sleep interventions.…”

Sleep and disparities in child and adolescent development

“…In a cross-sectional study of late adolescents whose ages averaged 17 years, actigraphy-derived sleep moderated relations between discrimination and adjustment ( El-Sheikh et al, 2022 ). Associations linking racial/ethnic discrimination and general discrimination with internalizing symptoms and rule-breaking behavior were attenuated at longer or more consistent sleep duration, compared to shorter or less consistent sleep duration, among both Black and White adolescents ( El-Sheikh et al, 2022 ).…”

“…In a cross-sectional study of late adolescents whose ages averaged 17 years, actigraphy-derived sleep moderated relations between discrimination and adjustment ( El-Sheikh et al, 2022 ). Associations linking racial/ethnic discrimination and general discrimination with internalizing symptoms and rule-breaking behavior were attenuated at longer or more consistent sleep duration, compared to shorter or less consistent sleep duration, among both Black and White adolescents ( El-Sheikh et al, 2022 ). Furthermore, in an ethnically diverse (9% African American, 25% Hispanic/Latino, 42% Asian, 25% White), longitudinal study examining self-r eported sleep quality as a moderator among middle adolescents at ages 14–15, racial/ethnic discrimination predicted higher levels of depressive symptoms and lower self-esteem, yet such relations were attenuated at higher levels of sleep quality ( Yip, 2015 ).…”

“…Likewise, experiences of youth from different racial/ethnic groups and historically minoritized groups ( El-Sheikh et al, 2022 ; Yip, Cham et al, 2020 ) tend to differ, and enhanced attention to multiple minoritized groups is needed. For example, marginalization and associated experiences occur for sexual and gender minorities, and risk may be especially elevated for youth with intersectional identities ( Fox et al, 2020 ); researchers need to examine the role of sleep in these contexts.…”