Poster #71 - The Mediating Effect of Sleep Disturbance on the Association Between Collective Racism and Psychological Maladjustment

• In Event: Poster Session 02

Abstract

Sleep attainment and quality are significantly related to race and socioeconomic status (Mezick et al., 2008). Although sleep as a mediator is overlooked, it is a plausible model considering the established associations between race, sleep, and health (Yip, 2019). The race-based disparities in stress and sleep in context model suggests that race-based stressors like perceived discrimination and stereotype threat impacts physiological processes such as sleep, ultimately wreaking havoc on health and functioning (Levy et al., 2016). Empirical support has shown that discriminatory experiences precede sleep disturbances as posited by the stress and sleep disparities model (Yip et al., 2020). Racial minorities are disproportionately burdened by poor sleep quality and attainment, increased sleep disturbances, and sleep disorders (Jackson, 2020). Rumination, psychological arousal, hyper vigilance, and embodiment are some of the processes implicated in the increased risk of poor sleep due to negative race-related experiences (Otto et al., 2022). Sleep disturbances are linked to outcomes across domains, including psychological maladjustment, poor social and academic outcomes, and a decline in physical health (Hungin & Close, 2010). Sleep quality was found to explain nearly a third of the median total effects of low SES on poor mental health (Papadopoulos et al., 2022). Elevated cortisol levels, increased allostatic load through HPA activation, reduced opportunities for recovery, and metabolic alterations are some hypothesized mechanisms that explain the association between sleep disturbance and maladjustment (Etindele Sosso et al., 2019; Hungin & Close, 2010; van Cauter & Spiegel, 1999). This study examines the mediating role of sleep disturbances in the associations between collective racism (independent variable) and psychological maladjustment (dependent variable) in an African American northeastern college cohort.

Method
Black students (N=152, 83.6% female, Mage = 21.72) were sampled from a large public university dataset collected in the northeastern region of the United States. The median combined parental income for black students was $50,000-$60,000.

Participants’ experiences of collective racism were assessed using the Index of Race-Related Stress (IRRS; Utsey & Ponterotto, 1996). Sleep disturbance (during the past month) was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI, Buysse et al., 1989). Participants overall maladjustment was assessed using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D, Radolff, 1997).

Results
The hypothesized mediation model was tested using the PROCESS macro model 4 (Hayes, 2013) for SPSS. Findings support the mediating role of sleep disturbance. The results show a significant total effect between collective racism and psychological maladjustment (b=.284, SE=.116, t=2.43 and p < .05). Analysis of the indirect effects results reveal that sleep disturbance significantly mediates the relationship between collective racism and maladjustment (b= .065, p < .05). Collective racism impacts sleep disturbance (b=.201, SE=.079, t=2.61 and p < .05) and sleep disturbance, in turn, impacts maladjustment (b=.325, SE=.122, t=2.65 and p < .05). Further, the results suggest that after accounting for sleep disturbance, collective racism does not impact maladjustment (b= .218, SE=.116, t=1.86 and p =.06). Overall, sleep disturbance fully mediates the relationship between collective racism and psychological maladjustment.

Author

• Crishnaa Joshi, Temple University
  Presenting Author