An Examination of Sleep as a Mediator of the Relationship between Childhood Adversity and Depression in Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Young Adults

The current study integrates previous research on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and long-term health outcomes to examine associations between ACEs, sleep duration, and depression in a diverse, mostly healthy, sample of young adults. We examine whether sleep duration mediates the association b...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Behavioral medicine (Washington, D.C.) D.C.), 2024-04, Vol.50 (2), p.106-117
Main Authors: O'Neill, Riley M., Cundiff, Jenny M., Wendel, Chris J., Schmidt, Adam T., Cribbet, Matthew R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Adverse Childhood Experiences
Adversity
Child
Childhood
Childhood experiences
Depression
ethnic identity
Ethnicity
Female
Health status
Hispanic Americans
Hispanic or Latino - psychology
Humans
Male
Mental depression
Psychology
Resistance (Psychology)
Sleep
sleep duration
Symptoms
Young Adult
Young adults
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The current study integrates previous research on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and long-term health outcomes to examine associations between ACEs, sleep duration, and depression in a diverse, mostly healthy, sample of young adults. We examine whether sleep duration mediates the association between ACEs and depression among young adults, and whether ethnicity may moderate observed relationships between ACEs, sleep duration and depression. Data were collected from 518 young adults (66.8% female, M age =19.79 years, SD age =3.43 years) enrolled in undergraduate Psychology courses at a large Southwestern university. Participants primarily reported their racial/ethnic background as Non-Hispanic White (60.6%) and Hispanic/Latino (25.1%). Participants self-reported their ACEs exposure, sleep characteristics, and depressive symptoms. In addition to calculating overall exposure to ACEs, scores for the specific dimensions of adversity were also calculated (Abuse, Neglect, Exposure to Violence). Results supported a mediation model whereby higher reports of ACEs were associated with depressive symptoms both directly and through sleep duration. Results were not moderated by ethnicity. Findings provide support for sleep duration as one potential pathway through which ACEs may be associated with depressive symptoms in young adulthood, and suggest that this pathway is similar in Hispanic and non-Hispanic young adults.
ISSN:0896-4289
1940-4026
DOI:10.1080/08964289.2022.2131707