Partnership Status and Sleep Quality among Mothers

• In Event: 381 - Section on the Sociology of the Family Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 01. Parenthood

Abstract

While there is a growing body of literature devoted to sleep as a health behavior, we know less about how social roles, such as partnership and parenthood, matter for sleep. The present study works from the protection, crisis, and selection theoretical perspectives to explore differences in sleep quality by partnership status among mothers. The present study further assesses the degree of racial variation in these effects of various partnership statuses on sleep quality. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 cohort (N=12,868), results show that married mothers are less likely to experience problem sleep than cohabiting, formerly partnered, and lone mothers. However, there are no significant difference in sleep quality when comparing these unmarried groups to one another. This finding suggests that marriage adds greatly to sleep quality. However, this result only holds for white mothers, as there are no differences in sleep quality by marital status. By highlighting the importance of partnership statuses for sleep, this study provides evidence that social relationships may be a key factor contributing to the stratification of sleep problems among adults.

Author

• Alexandra Kissling