0267 School Night Sleep Duration Effect on Risk for In-and-Out of School Suspensions: An Investigation in a Middle-School Aged Sample

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Sleep plays an important role in adolescent education and development. Sleep impacts student school attendance, academic performance, and daytime behaviors. There has been limited investigation into the impact on sleep duration (SD) on school suspension risk. Given the growing public health and policy focus on altering school start times to increase SD, this study assessed SD association with school suspension risk using a middle-school aged sample from the Madison (Wisconsin) Metropolitan School District (MMSD), prior to implementation of a planned district-wide delay in middle school start times. Methods 4,175 middle-school aged students from 12 MMSD schools completed a sleep survey, which included school-night SD (SNSD). Self-reported SNSD between 4-and-12 hours served as criterion for inclusion in final sample. Mixed effects modeling was employed with students nested within school. Logistic regression determined SNSD association with in-school (ISS) and out-of-school (OSS) suspensions. ISS and OSS were dichotomized (No ISS/OSS = 0; nonzero ISS/OSS = 1) to serve as outcome variables. Full model covariates included age, sex, race, circadian preference, parent educational level, homelessness, free and reduced lunch, and special education status. Results Final sample included 3,860 students. Shorter SNSD associated with greater likelihood of OSS [OR = 0.83, 95% CI (-0.28, -0.09), X2 = 16.1, p < 0.0001], but not ISS [OR = 0.97, 95% CI (-0.14, -0.070), X2 = 0.44, p = 0.51]. Significance between SNSD and OSS was maintained in the full model [OR = 0.84, 95% CI (-0.27, -0.08), X2 = 13.2, p = 0.0003]. Each additional hour of sleep associated with 16% lower risk of OSS. Conclusion These results suggest that students with shorter SD are at increased risk for OSS, which further highlights the potential deleterious impact of short SD on adolescent educational experience. Support This research was generously supported by a grant from the Madison Education Partnership (MEP).