Effects of daily peer problems on sleep and the severity of pediatric asthma symptoms.

Abstract

Objective: Although psychosocial stressors in the home environment place children at risk for physical health problems, less is known about whether or how peer stressors contribute to health problems in youth. The current study investigated associations between daily peer problems and asthma symptoms among adolescents with asthma. The possible mediating role of nightly sleep disturbance and the moderating role of adolescent mental health were also examined. Method: Adolescents (N = 297) with asthma reported on peer problems, nighttime awakenings, sleep quality, and asthma symptoms over 4 days. Youth also self-administered daily peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) assessments, and parents reported on their children's anxious--depressive symptoms. Results: Adolescents encountering more daily peer problems experienced more severe asthma symptoms, but not lower PEFR. Mediation analyses demonstrated that associations between daily peer problems and subjective asthma symptoms were partially explained by more nighttime awakenings and lower sleep quality, even after accounting for potentially confounding demographic factors and adolescents' daily experiences of familial stress. However, these indirect pathways did not vary depending on youth anxious-depressive symptoms. Conclusions: The findings provide novel evidence for everyday peer stress as a developmentally relevant health risk factor among adolescents with asthma. Insofar as daily peer problems were associated with elevated asthma symptoms via impaired sleep, psychosocial interventions focusing on the peer context may help mitigate maladaptive health behaviors and asthma morbidity.

The role of school safety perceptions in childhood asthma diagnosis disparities.

“…These findings are consistent with previous research, which finds that systemic inequities in exposure to chronic or toxic stress constitute an important and highly relevant social determinant of health for low SES individuals and for racial and ethnic minority individuals, especially as it relates to asthma incidence and severity (Barnthouse & Jones, 2019;Rosa et al, 2018). These findings also are consistent with prior work, which suggests that school-related stress in children is associated with negative health outcomes (Schacter et al, 2022).…”