Inadequate sleep moderates effects of interparental conflict appraisals on adolescent adjustment

Abstract

ObjectivesPrevious 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. MethodsOne-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. ResultsResults 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. ConclusionThese results suggest that higher quality sleep may protect adolescents from the negative effects of interparental conflict.