Poster #82 - Ethnic/Racial Discrimination and Sleep Across Latino Adolescents’ Transition to College: Is Family Support a Buffer?

• In Event: Poster Session 06

Abstract

The transition from high school to college (TTC) is a critical period of change, the effects of which may be exacerbated for Latino students, who often face additional minority-specific stressors (e.g., ethnic/racial discrimination; Lopez, 2005). While evidence exists for cross-sectional links between discrimination and sleep among diverse adolescents, little is known regarding the longitudinal consequences of discrimination experiences during unique risk periods such as the TTC (Majeno et al., 2018). Further, despite the central role of family in Latino adolescents’ lives (Azmitia, 2021), less research has explored the protective role of family support in links between discrimination and Latino students’ sleep health. Thus, this study aimed to examine: 1) longitudinal associations between peer- and adult-based ethnic/racial discrimination in high school and actigraphy-measured (e.g., duration, efficiency, midpoint) and subjective sleep (e.g., problems) during the first year of college among Latino adolescents, accounting for college discrimination experiences, and 2) family support as a moderator of these associations.

Participants were 209 Hispanic/Latino adolescents (Mage=18.10; 64.4% female; 84.7% Mexican descent; 67.9% first-generation students) transitioning to a large southwestern university in the U.S. At Time 1 (T1; 2017; last semester of high school), participants self-reported on family support (Zimet et al., 1988; α=.88) and ethnic/racial discrimination from peers/adults (Way, 1997; αs>92). At Time 3 (T3; 2018; second semester of college), participants self-reported on ethnic/racial discrimination (αs>.93) and subjective sleep problems (PSQI; Buysse et al., 1989). Actigraphy sleep was assessed at T3 via wrist-based accelerometers worn for seven days (Mnights=6.49, SD=.91) to measure sleep midpoint (sleep timing), duration (total time asleep excluding waking periods), and efficiency (proportion of time spent asleep). Study aims were tested in a structural equation modeling framework in Mplus. Covariates were gender, immigrant generation status, parent education level, summer participation, living situation (at home vs. not), and BMI.

There were no longitudinal associations between T1 peer or adult discrimination and T3 sleep (ps>.07). However, there were concurrent associations between ethnic/racial discrimination and sleep in college. Specifically, greater T3 peer discrimination was associated with less duration (b=-.27, p=.02) and lower efficiency (b=-2.24, p=.001) at T3. Further, higher T3 adult discrimination was linked with lower duration (b=-.25, p=.02), less efficiency (b=-1.42, p=.048), and greater problems (b=.97, p=.009). There were no significant moderation findings; however, the interaction between T1 adult discrimination and family support predicting T3 sleep problems was marginal (b=.52, p=.08). Adolescents who reported low levels of adult discrimination in conjunction with higher levels of family support had the fewest sleep problems (Figure 2).

Study findings provide additional evidence that ethnic/racial discrimination from both adults and peers is associated with reduced sleep duration and quality among Latino college students and suggest that current cultural stressors may be particularly influential on sleep during major socio-contextual shifts. Longitudinally, it is possible that family support may serve as a protective factor under low levels of discrimination only (e.g., protective-reactive pattern; Luthar et al., 2000). These findings can inform future efforts to reduce experiences of discrimination, or other race-based stressors, in higher education to promote health and well-being. 

Authors

• Crystal Li, University of Texas at Austin
  Presenting Author

• Jeri Sasser, Arizona State University

• Leah D Doane, Arizona State University