Exposure to Peer Aggression and Adolescent Sleep Problems: Moderation by Parental Acceptance

• In Event: Sleep in Adolescence: The Importance of Family and School Contexts

Abstract

Many youth experience or witness aggression by peers at school, and a growing body of literature suggests that experiencing peer victimization is associated with sleep problems (van Geel et al., 2016). Parents may be able to mitigate the impact of peer victimization on their children’s sleep by providing high levels of acceptance (i.e., parental expressions of affection and appreciation of their child). The purpose of the current study was to examine whether parental acceptance moderated associations between exposure to peer aggression (i.e., peer victimization and witnessing school violence) and two key sleep domains: sleep quality problems and daytime sleepiness. We hypothesized that each mode of exposure to peer aggression would be associated with more sleep quality problems and more sleepiness and that parental acceptance would attenuate these associations. Participants included a representative community sample of 272 adolescents attending high school (M age = 17.27 years; 49% female). Youth were diverse with regard to race (59% White/European American, 41% Black/African American) and socioeconomic status (family income-to-needs ratio: 35% at or below the federal poverty line, 19% lower middle class, 46% middle class; US Department of Commerce, 2017). Adolescents completed validated measures of exposure to peer aggression (Social Experiences Questionnaire, Crick & Grotpeter, 1996; Recent Exposure to Violence Scale, Van Dulmen et al., 2008), parental acceptance (Parental Behavior Inventory; Schaefer, 1965), and sleep problems (School Sleep Habits Survey; Wolfson & Carskadon, 1998). Anxiety symptoms and demographic variables were included as covariates. Results indicated that exposure to peer aggression was directly associated with poor sleep quality and sleepiness, and parental acceptance was directly associated with poor sleep quality (Table 1). Furthermore, peer victimization and witnessing school violence interacted with parental acceptance to predict sleep quality. Specifically, exposure to peer aggression was associated with sleep quality problems at higher (but not lower) levels of parental acceptance (Figure 1). The lowest levels of sleep quality problems were apparent at low levels of peer aggression and high levels of parental acceptance, but parental acceptance did not protect adolescents with high exposure to peer aggression against sleep quality problems. Findings illustrate the importance of considering moderators of effects and the conjoint roles of family and peer processes when considering individual differences in adolescents’ sleep. Future research should examine whether parental strategies targeted to address peer victimization are protective against the detrimental effects of exposure to peer aggression.

Authors

• Megan Zeringue, Middle Tennessee State University
  Presenting Author

• Stephen Erath, Auburn University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Mona M El-Sheikh, Auburn University
  Non-Presenting Author