Latent Profiles of Sleep Patterns in Early Adolescence: Associations With Behavioral Health Risk

The present study characterized sleep profiles in a national longitudinal sample of early adolescents and examined whether profiles predicted later behavioral problems.

Three waves of data (2016-2021) were obtained from the Adolescent Behavior and Cognitive Development study, including 3,326 participants with both weekday and weekend sleep data measured by Fitbit wearables (age range 10.58-13.67 years; 49.3% female). Latent profile analysis was utilized to identify sleep profiles using multiple sleep indicators (duration, latency, efficiency, wake minutes, wake counts, and midpoint). We then explored whether demographic predictors predicted profile membership and tested the latent sleep profiles' predictive utility of internalizing and externalizing symptoms.

Four profiles were identified: average sleep (40.39%), high duration & high wakefulness (28.58%), high efficiency, low duration &low wakefulness (16.86%), and low duration & low efficiency (14.17%). Participants with older age, males, higher body mass index, and advanced pubertal status were more likely to be classified in the low duration & low efficiency profile than the average group. Participants with lower income, minority identification, older age, and higher body mass index were more likely to be classified in the high efficiency, low duration &low wakefulness than the average group. Participants with lower parental education and males were more likely to be in the high sleep duration & high wakefulness than the average group. The low duration & low efficiency group had the highest attention problems, social problems, and rule-breaking behaviors.

Our findings highlight unique sleep patterns in early adolescence and their prospective links with internalizing and externalizing problems.