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Published on: September 19, 2019
Inadequate sleep moderates effects of interparental conflict appraisals on adolescent adjustment
Rachel G Lucas-Thompson1, Natasha S Seiter1, Reagan L Miller1
1Department of Human Development & Family Studies, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.
Objectives:
Previous research and theory suggest that interparental conflict that is perceived by youth as frequent/intense, threatening, and/or the responsibility of the youth is predictive of adjustment problems. In contrast, sleep, an important precursor to emotion regulation, is likely a protective factor for youth experiencing interparental conflict. The goal of the current study was to investigate the extent to which adolescents who maintain better and/or longer sleep are buffered from the adjustment problems associated with greater interparental conflict.
Methods:
One-hundred and fifty adolescents completed questionnaires assessing interparental conflict (frequency/intensity perceptions as well as threat and self-blame appraisals) as well as internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Participants also wore an actigraph over 1 week to objectively measure sleep quantity and quality; 123 participants had valid actigraphy data.
Results:
Results of structural equation modeling analyses revealed that greater sleep quality weakened the association between interparental conflict and adjustment problems, particularly internalizing behaviors. However, sleep quantity was not a moderator.
Conclusion:
These results suggest that higher quality sleep may protect adolescents from the negative effects of interparental conflict.
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