Sleep problems and self-control: An examination of reciprocal effects across childhood and adolescence

Abstract

PurposeCriminologists have increasingly investigated the relevance of health indicators, such as sleep problems, for predicting delinquent and criminal behavior. Further, several studies have investigated the association between sleep and low self-control. Yet, insufficient attention has been given to investigating whether this association is reciprocal. MethodsUsing seven waves of data collected as part of the Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, we employ cross-lagged panel modeling (CLPM) to analyze the bidirectional association between sleep problems and self-control from childhood to middle adolescence. Importantly, our modeling strategy builds on traditional CLPM by also estimating a random-intercept CLPM, enabling an examination of reciprocal effects at the within-person level. ResultsBoth the CLPM and RI-CLPM models provide evidence of reciprocal effects between self-control and sleep problems during childhood. During adolescence, however, only a unidirectional effect of self-control on sleep problems is observed at the between-person level, and no significant reciprocal associations were observed during adolescence at the within-person level. ConclusionsReciprocal effects between sleep problems and self-control were found to be limited to childhood. As such, interventions addressing sleep problems and deficits in self-control during childhood may be more efficacious than ones implemented during adolescence.