Increased Risk for School Violence‐Related Behaviors Among Adolescents With Insufficient Sleep

Abstract

BACKGROUND School violence is associated with significant acute and long‐term negative health outcomes. Previous investigations have largely neglected the role of pertinent health behaviors in school violence, including sleep. Insufficient sleep is associated with adverse physical, behavioral, and psychosocial consequences among adolescents, many of which are concurrently implicated in youth violence. This study examined the relationship between insufficient sleep and school violence behaviors in a nationally representative sample of high school students. METHOD We used data from the 2009 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). Logistic regression analyses evaluated the association between insufficient sleep and school violence behaviors, controlling for demographic factors. In addition to examining main effects, interaction terms were entered into the models to examine whether potential associations varied by sex or race/ethnicity. RESULTS Students with insufficient sleep had higher odds of engaging in the majority of school violence‐related behaviors examined compared to students with sufficient sleep. Males with insufficient sleep were at increased risk of weapon carrying at school, a finding not observed for females with insufficient sleep. White students with insufficient sleep had higher odds of missing school because of safety concerns, a pattern that did not emerge among Black and Hispanic/Latino students. CONCLUSION Results highlight the potential value of incorporating sleep education interventions into school‐based violence prevention programs and underline the need for further examination of the relationship between sleep and school violence among adolescents.

Advancing a Biopsychosocial and Contextual Model of Sleep in Adolescence: A Review and Introduction to the Special Issue

“…In a sample of almost 500 seventh-grade youth, community violence exposure was associated with lower GPA directly but also indirectly via sleep problems (Lepore and Kliewer 2013). Adolescents who obtain less than 8 h of sleep per night are concurrently more likely than their peers to report carrying a weapon to school, missing school due to feeling unsafe, being threatened or injured with a weapon at school, and being bullied at school (Hildenbrand et al 2013). Longitudinal data also speak to the link between sleep problems and adolescents carrying or using weapons.…”

“…Multiple mechanisms are likely implicated in the association between violence exposure (either in the home or in the community) and adolescent delinquency Becker 2010, 2015), but studies have yet to separate out sleep disturbances from other symptoms of PTSD when examining the link between trauma/PTSD and delinquency or other antisocial behaviors. Given the findings summarized above linking sleep to carrying/using a weapon (Hildenbrand et al 2013;Umlauf et al 2011), as well as other studies showing short sleep duration to be associated with violence towards others, truancy, and a criminal record for theft (Yen et al 2010), it would behoove researchers to consider the specific role of sleep problems as one possible mechanism linking trauma and violence exposure to delinquency and other externalizing behaviors. Indeed, there is preliminary cross-sectional evidence suggesting that sleep problems may account for the link between community violence and delinquency in at-risk Latino adolescents .…”

Are qualitative and quantitative sleep problems associated with delinquency when controlling for psychopathic features and parental supervision?

“…Interest was sparked by studies showing that sleep loss is related to diminished behavioural response inhibition, increased irritability and hostility and negative affective states which, in turn, are related to aggression and violence (Ireland and Culpin, 2006). Several recent large epidemiological studies have found a link between adolescent delinquency and sleep problems (Catrett and Gaultney, 2009), insufficient sleep amount (Clinkinbeard et al, 2011;Hildenbrand et al, 2013;Meldrum et al, 2015;Peach and Gaultney, 2013) or both (Meijer et al, 2010). However, unanswered questions remain.…”

Relación entre violencia, consumo de alcohol y tabaco en adolescentes escolarizados en Suba en 2010

“…Lo anterior resulta preocupante para la comunidad científica y educativa debido a su elevada prevalencia en estudiantes de educación secundaria a nivel mundial (4). De hecho, desde hace tiempo, en Latinoamérica existe una preocupación por los comportamientos violentos juveniles (5).…”