Daily Associations Between Adolescent Sleep and Socioemotional Experiences During an Ongoing Stressor
Open accessAbstract
Purpose Ongoing stress can result in sleep disturbances and daytime socioemotional difficulties. Data on how sleep and daytime socioemotional functioning may be bidirectionally related to one another in the midst of an ongoing stressor are limited, particularly during adolescence, a developmental period when risk for the onset of mental health difficulties and sleep disturbances is high. Methods Participants (N = 459, ages of 13-18 years) were recruited from across the United States and completed an intake survey and one week of daily reports beginning 2 weeks after COVID-19 was declared a national emergency. Participants reported on their daily post-traumatic stress symptoms, positive and negative affect, loneliness, sleep onset difficulties, nightmares, sleep quality, and time in bed. Results Lagged hierarchical linear models adjusting for age, sex, socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, medication use, medical conditions, and ongoing stressors were estimated to examine bidirectional associations between night-time sleep and next-day mental health. Poorer sleep quality and more nightmares at night predicted higher next-day negative affect, and greater daytime negative affect predicted lower sleep quality and a greater likelihood of having nightmares the following night. Poor sleep quality predicted greater next-day post-traumatic stress, which, in turn, predicted poorer sleep quality the following night and more difficulties falling asleep. Poor sleep quality and a longer time in bed also predicted greater next-day loneliness. Discussion Overall, these findings provide insight into how sleep disturbances and socioemotional difficulties unfold during a major life stressor in an adolescent sample.
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In a recent meta-analysis of pre-pandemic studies on loneliness and depression symptoms, age was not a significant moderator.
“In a recent meta-analysis of pre-pandemic studies on loneliness and depression symptoms, age was not a significant moderator [71].”
From Loneliness and Well-Being in Children and Adolescents during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review (2023) · cites this paper as [71]
One explanation for the non-significant age moderation may be low power to detect these effects due to a smaller number of studies on child samples.
“The researchers recognized that one explanation may be due to low power to detect these effects due to a smaller number of studies on child samples.”
From Loneliness and Well-Being in Children and Adolescents during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review (2023) · cites this paper as [71]
Methods of increasing children's and adolescents' feelings of belonging to a social group and experiencing positive social rewards can include access to physical exercise, social hobbies, and entertainment.
“Methods of increasing children’s and adolescents’ feelings of belonging to a social group and experiencing positive social rewards can include access to physical exercise, social hobbies, and entertainment [25,71].”
From Loneliness and Well-Being in Children and Adolescents during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review (2023) · cites this paper as [71]
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“Several human studies focused on extreme stress and sleep disturbance also found similar associations (Kovachy et al., 2013; Palmer et al., 2022).”
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Sleep Attitudes Are Associated with Adolescent Sleep Hygiene and Sleep Health
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“Assent was obtained prior to taking the survey and participants received a link to inform their parents about the survey and contact details of the research team (see Palmer et al., 2022 for similar IRB-approved parental consent procedures).”
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“Identifying modifiable factors associated with HRQoL is therefore important for understanding how adolescents maintain functioning under sustained developmental and academic demands (18 – 21).”
- Authors
- Palmer, C. A., Oosterhoff, B., Massey, A., & Bawden, H.
- Affiliations
- Montana State University (US)
- University of Washington (US)
- Corresponding author
- Palmer, Cara A.
- Venue
- Journal of Adolescent Health
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2022-06
- Volume
- 70
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 970-977
- ISSN
- 1054-139X (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC9124674
- OpenAlex
- W4220659409
- Cited by
- 16
- References
- 45
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 1
- FWCI
- 3.22
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Adolescent Health (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of General Medical Sciences (P20GM103474, P20GM104417)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and related disorders
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › COVID-19 and Mental Health
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Keywords
- adolescent sleep, sleep quality, nightmares, sleep onset difficulty, social-emotional functioning, negative affect, loneliness, posttraumatic stress symptoms, COVID-19 pandemic, time in bed
- MeSH terms
- COVID-19, Adolescent, Humans, Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders, Loneliness, Sleep, Sleep Wake Disorders, United States
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