1-126 - Estimating Nonlinear Associations between Sleep and Adolescent Functioning: Is there an Optimum?

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Recent years have witnessed several challenges to the empirical basis for commonly-cited sleep recommendations for children and adolescents. Historical analyses documenting large changes in recommendations over time have been seen by some as evidence that guidelines are based more on shared opinion than objective evidence, although others have disagreed (Matricciani, Olds, Blunden, Rigney, & Williams, 2012; Owens, 2012). The use of “free sleep” studies that allow small, select samples of youth to sleep as much as they desire to determine the amount of sleep that adolescents need has been criticized (Eide & Showalter, 2012; Matricciani, Blunden, Rigney, Williams, & Olds, 2013). Observers increasingly have called for a stronger empirical basis for sleep recommendations, particularly studies that focus on functioning by comparing adolescent adjustment across differing amounts of sleep and paying particular attention to non-linear associations between sleep and adjustment (Blunden & Galland, 2014; Eide and Schowalter 2012, Feinberg, 2013; Feinberg & Campbell, 2012; Matricciani et al., 2013). This symposium endeavors to help build the empirical basis for sleep recommendations during adolescence by examining non-linear associations between sleep and functioning across four different datasets. The studies span diverse adolescent contexts, ethnicities, nationalities, and indicators of adjustment, including mental, physical and academic well-being. Collectively, the papers and discussion will contribute to our knowledge about whether there is an “optimal” level of sleep for diverse groups of adolescents and provide preliminary evidence to inform national recommendations and subsequent policies.

Sub Unit

• Health, Growth, Injury

Chairs

• Andrew J Fuligni, UCLA

• Leah D. Doane, Arizona State University

Individual Presentations

• Sleep Duration and Peak Levels of Academic Achievement and Psychological Well-Being - Presenting Author: Andrew J Fuligni, UCLA; Erin H. Arruda, UCLA; Sunhye Bai, UCLA; Jennifer L. Krull, UCLA; Nancy A Gonzales, Arizona State University

• Sleep and Adjustment among Mexican-origin Adolescents: Testing Curvilinear Associations - Presenting Author: Kimberly Updegraff, Arizona State University; Sally I-Chun Kuo, Virginia Commonwealth University; Katharine H. Zeiders, University of Arizona; Lorey A Wheeler, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Susan M. McHale, Department of Human Development and Family Studies, The Pennsylvania State University; Adriana Umana-Taylor, Arizona State University

• Optimal Sleep and Adolescent Mental Health: Using Nonlinear Models to Identify Key Inflection Points - Presenting Author: Melissa Latham, University of Oregon; Matthew Blake, University of Melbourne; Orli S. Schwartz, The University of Melbourne; Joanna Waloszek, University of Melbourne; Monika Raniti, University of Melbourne; John Trinder, University of Melbourne; Nicholas B. Allen, University of Oregon

• Optimal Levels of Sleep Duration and Quality in Late Adolescence: Links with Depressive Symptoms and Academic Performance - Presenting Author: Leah D. Doane, Arizona State University; Kevin Grimm, Arizona State University; Scott A. Van Lenten, Arizona State University; William Pelham, Arizona State University; Thomas J. Dishion, Arizona State University; Thao Ha, Arizona State University