Exposure to parental interpartner conflict in adolescence predicts sleep problems in emerging adulthood.

OBJECTIVES: Parental interpartner conflict is a highly prevalent form of family risk that is stressful for adolescents with ramifications for their sleep. Multiple studies have demonstrated that adolescents from high-conflict homes are at risk for sleep problems. Building on this literature, we conducted novel analyses and investigated whether exposure to interpartner conflict in adolescence predicts sleep problems in the subsequent developmental period of emerging adulthood. METHODS: We used a rigorous four-wave design spanning 8years (collected between 2012-2020). At wave 1, participants were 245 adolescents from diverse backgrounds (M age=15.74years; 67% White/European American, 33% Black/African American; 52% girls). Individuals participated again in their adolescence at wave 2 (M age=16.77) and wave 3 (M age=17.69). Participants returned for wave 4 in emerging adulthood (M age=22.97). Adolescents reported on their parents' interpartner conflict (intense and frequent conflict). Sleep duration (minutes) and quality (efficiency, long wake episodes) were measured using actigraphy. RESULTS: After controlling for autoregressive effects and several covariates, findings from a structural equation model revealed that greater exposure to parental interpartner conflict in adolescence predicted reduced sleep efficiency and more long wake episodes in emerging adulthood. CONCLUSIONS: Results build on the literature to consider sleep in the family context and are among the first to illustrate that exposure to parental interpartner conflict in adolescence predicts sleep problems in emerging adulthood. Continued investigations into the antecedents of sleep problems in emerging adulthood may benefit from considering past exposure to family risk.

Longitudinal relations between interpartner aggression and internalizing symptoms among couples: The moderating role of sleep.

Recipients of interpartner aggression often experience internalizing symptoms. However, individual differences exist, and elucidation of factors that attenuate or exacerbate risk are needed to explicate relations and better inform interventions aimed at reducing mental health sequelae of interpartner aggression. Sleep problems compromise coping abilities and are known to exacerbate risk for mental health problems in the context of family risk. We examined whether sleep problems moderated the extent to which the recipients of interpartner aggression experience internalizing symptoms over time. At the first wave, 194 couples participated (M age [women] = 41.81 years, SD = 5.85; M age [men] = 43.75 years, SD = 6.74; 71% White/European American, 26% Black/African American, 3% other race/ethnicity). Two years later, couples returned for a second wave. Psychological and physical forms of interpartner aggression were measured using self- and partner-reports. Sleep duration (minutes) and sleep quality (efficiency) were derived using actigraphy, and subjective sleep/wake problems were also assessed. Individuals self-reported on their own internalizing symptoms. After controlling for autoregressive effects, sleep moderated the extent to which the recipients of interpartner aggression experienced internalizing symptoms longitudinally. Lower sleep efficiency and more subjective sleep/wake problems among women exacerbated the extent to which interpartner aggression forecasted their internalizing symptoms. Lower sleep efficiency among men magnified relations between interpartner aggression and their internalizing symptoms. Findings help understand the multiplicative influence that family risk and sleep problems have on mental health over time.

CD8+ lymphocytes are critical for early control of tuberculosis in macaques.

The functional role of CD8+ lymphocytes in tuberculosis remains poorly understood. We depleted innate and/or adaptive CD8+ lymphocytes in macaques and showed that loss of all CD8α+ cells (using anti-CD8α antibody) significantly impaired early control of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection, leading to increased granulomas, lung inflammation, and bacterial burden. Analysis of barcoded Mtb from infected macaques demonstrated that depletion of all CD8+ lymphocytes allowed increased establishment of Mtb in lungs and dissemination within lungs and to lymph nodes, while depletion of only adaptive CD8+ T cells (with anti-CD8ß antibody) worsened bacterial control in lymph nodes. Flow cytometry and single-cell RNA sequencing revealed polyfunctional cytotoxic CD8+ lymphocytes in control granulomas, while CD8-depleted animals were unexpectedly enriched in CD4 and γδ T cells adopting incomplete cytotoxic signatures. Ligand-receptor analyses identified IL-15 signaling in granulomas as a driver of cytotoxic T cells. These data support that CD8+ lymphocytes are required for early protection against Mtb and suggest polyfunctional cytotoxic responses as a vaccine target.

The Buffering Role of Community Self-Efficacy in the Links between Family Economic Stress and Young Adults' Prosocial Behaviors and Civic Engagement.

The goal of the current study was to examine the predictive role of economic stress and community self-efficacy on prosocial behaviors toward friends and strangers, and civic engagement. In addition, we considered the multiplicative effects of economic stress and community self-efficacy on these distinct types of prosocial behaviors (different targets of prosocial behaviors). The sample consisted of 202 young adults (M age = 20.94 years; 76.5% women; 67.5% reported identifying as racially White; 7.7% Black; 5.7% Asian; 5.5% Native; 13.6% other and included groups such as Mestizo, mixed race, and Mexican) who reported on their economic stress, community self-efficacy, and tendencies to engage in prosocial behaviors toward friends and strangers as well as civic engagement. The results demonstrated that economic stress was not directly associated with prosocial behaviors or civic engagement. Community self-efficacy was positively associated with civic engagement and prosocial behaviors toward both friends and strangers. The interaction term was positively associated with prosocial behaviors toward friends. Discussion focuses on the critical role of community self-efficacy as a buffer against stress and as a predictor of multiple forms of prosocial behaviors.

Adolescents' sleep and adjustment: Reciprocal effects.

Reciprocal relations between sleep and adjustment were investigated. Participants included 246 adolescents (M = 15.80 years; 67.5% White, 32.5% Black/African American; 53% female, 47% male) at Time 1 (data collected 2012-2013), 227 at Time 2 (M = 16.78 years) and 215 at Time 3 (M = 17.70 years). Sleep-wake variables were measured with self-reports (sleepiness) and actigraphy (average sleep minutes and efficiency, variability in sleep minutes and efficiency). Adolescents reported on depression and anxiety symptoms, and parents reported on externalizing problems. Greater variability in sleep duration and efficiency as well as sleepiness predicted adjustment problems (range of R2 : 36%-60%). Reciprocal relations were supported mostly for sleepiness (range of R2 : 16%-32%). Results help understand bidirectional relations between sleep and adjustment.

Alcohol Use Cravings as a Mediator Between Associated Risk Factors on Increased Alcohol Use among Youth Adults in New York During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The sudden increase in alcohol use in the young adult population during the COVID-19 pandemic may be partially explained by social isolation and stress due to restricted stay-at-home orders. The goal of this study was to assess specific psychological factors (e.g., anxiety, depressive symptoms, sleep disturbances, and alcohol cravings) and COVID-19 diagnoses and their association with increased alcohol use and misuse during the COVID-19 pandemic among New York residents 18-35 years of age. Survey data were collected via Qualtrics between July 2020-October 2020. Path analyses tests were employed to test alcohol use cravings as a mediator. Among the total sample (N=575), mean age was 27.94±4.12; a majority were White non-Hispanic (66%), female (55%) and had completed a 4-year college or university degree (n = 249; 43.5%). Results revealed that alcohol use cravings was a significant mediator between sleep disturbances, having a COVID-19 diagnoses, and having mental health symptoms on increased alcohol use. Our findings underscore the importance of providing alcohol use prevention and treatment resources in this unprecedented COVID-19 era. Policymakers, public health professionals, and clinicians have a significant role in curbing the COVID-19-induced substance use epidemic.

Longitudinal relations between parents' sleep problems and harsh parenting.

Toward better understanding the determinants of harsh parenting, the present study assessed prospective associations between mothers' and fathers' sleep problems and their harsh parenting toward their child using two waves of data. Children's gender was examined as a moderator of these associations. At the first wave, 257 families participated. Mean age was 36.15 years (SD = 5.70 years) for mothers, 39.78 years (SD = 7.54 years) for fathers, and 10.41 years (SD = 7.85 months) for children. The sample was diverse in terms of race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status with approximately 68% identifying as White/European American and 29% identifying as Black/African American. After approximately 1 year, families participated in a second study wave. Parents' sleep was assessed using actigraphy (sleep minutes, sleep efficiency, and long wake episodes) and mothers and fathers reported on the occurrence of their psychological and physical forms of harsh parenting toward their child. After controlling for autoregressive effects, fewer sleep minutes, reduced sleep efficiency, and more frequent long wake episodes among fathers predicted greater harsh parenting among fathers 1 year later. Child gender moderated some of these associations such that relations between fathers' poorer-quality sleep and higher levels of harsh parenting were more pronounced for boys. Sleep problems among mothers did not predict mothers' harsh parenting over time. Findings build on a growing literature that has considered sleep in the family context and provide novel insight into the influence of parents' sleep on their parenting practices. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Interactions between sleep duration and quality as predictors of adolescents' adjustment.

OBJECTIVES: We examined interactions between adolescents' sleep duration and quality as predictors of their internalizing symptoms and externalizing behaviors. As a secondary aim, we assessed adolescent sex, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status (SES) as additional moderators of risk (ie, 3-way interactions among sleep duration; quality; and sex, race, or SES). DESIGN: The study used a cross-sectional design. SETTING: Participants were from small towns and semirural communities in Alabama. PARTICIPANTS: The sample consisted of 235 adolescents (Mage = 15.78 years, SD = 9.60 months) and was diverse with respect to sex (54% female), race/ethnicity (32% Black/African American, 67% White), and SES. MEASUREMENTS: Sleep duration (actual sleep minutes) was examined with actigraphs for 1 week. Adolescents reported on their subjective sleep quality, internalizing symptoms, and externalizing behavior with psychometrically sound measures. RESULTS: Findings revealed interactions between sleep duration and sleep quality as predictors of adolescents' adjustment. Adolescents with both short sleep duration in conjunction with poor sleep quality had the highest levels of internalizing symptoms and aggressive and rule-breaking behavior. SES interacted with sleep duration and sleep quality to predict rule-breaking behavior, and the highest level of problems was observed for adolescents from lower-SES homes who had short sleep duration accompanied by poor sleep quality. CONCLUSIONS: Findings identify the conjoint role of sleep duration and quality as predictors of adolescents' socioemotional adjustment and emphasize the importance of examining multiple sleep parameters simultaneously toward a better understanding of adaptation in adolescence.

What does a good night's sleep mean? Nonlinear relations between sleep and children's cognitive functioning and mental health.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: We attempted to identify the duration and quality of sleep associated with the optimal child outcomes in key developmental domains including cognitive functioning, academic performance, and mental health. In doing so, we examined nonlinear associations between the sleep and developmental variables. Based on racial/ethnic disparities in children's sleep, we assessed this variable as a moderator of examined relations. METHODS: Two hundred eighty-two children participated (Mage = 9.4 years, SD = .72; 52% boys; 65% white/European American, 35% black/African American). Sleep was examined with actigraphy for seven consecutive nights and with self-reports. Actigraphy-based sleep duration (minutes) and quality (efficiency), as well as self-reported sleep quality were derived. Children reported on their mental health and were administered cognitive performance tests. Mothers and teachers reported on children's mental health; teachers also reported on academic functioning. Schools provided academic achievement data. RESULTS: Sleep duration had an accelerating nonlinear negative association with externalizing behaviors. Nonlinear associations were also detected between both actigraphy-derived and subjective reports of sleep quality and multiple developmental domains including academic functioning and mental health and the best functioning corresponded with the highest levels of sleep quality. Emphasizing the importance of individual differences, several examined associations were moderated by race/ethnicity. CONCLUSIONS: Sleep duration and quality emerged as nonlinear predictors of multiple domains of child development. Findings illustrate that the benefits of longer and better-quality sleep did not taper off and that assessments of nonlinear relations may enhance understanding of the nature of associations between sleep and child functioning.

Reciprocal Relations Between Parental Problem Drinking and Children's Sleep: The Role of Socioeconomic Adversity.

Reciprocal relations between parental problem drinking (PPD) and children's sleep were examined longitudinally, and socioeconomic status was considered as a moderating variable. At Wave 1, 280 children (Mage  = 10.33) and their parent(s) participated, and 275 families returned 1 year later. At both waves, parent(s) reported on PD and children wore actigraphs that measured established sleep parameters. After controlling for autoregressive effects, fathers' PD predicted reduced sleep duration and efficiency in children over time. Supportive of reciprocal effects, more frequent long wake episodes predicted greater PPD. Fathers' PD was a more robust risk factor for lower than higher income children. Results build on a growing literature that has considered children's sleep in a family context.

Maternal immunization increases nestling energy expenditure, immune function, and fledging success in a passerine bird.

Female birds transfer maternally derived antibodies (matAb) to their nestlings, via the egg yolk. These antibodies are thought to provide passive protection, and allow nestlings to avoid the costs associated with mounting an innate immune response. To test whether there is an energetic benefit to nestlings from receiving matAb, we challenged adult female tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) prior to clutch initiation with either lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or saline (Control). Following hatching, one half of each female's nestlings were immunized on day 8 post-hatch with LPS or saline, and the 4-h post-immunization nestling metabolic rate (MR) was measured. There was no difference in either LPS-reactive antibodies or total Ig levels between offspring of immunized and non-immunized mothers on day 6 or 14 post-hatch, possibly reflecting a relatively short half-life of matAbs in altricial birds. Additionally, we found no evidence that nestlings from LPS-immunized mothers could avoid the growth suppression that may result from activation of an inflammatory response. Unexpectedly, we found that control nestlings from LPS mothers had higher resting MR than control nestlings of control mothers. We attribute the increased MR to the costs associated with a general non-specific enhancement of immune function in nestlings from LPS-immunized mothers. Consistent with enhanced immune function, nestlings of immunized mothers had a more robust inflammatory response to phytohaemagglutinin and higher fledging success. Our results suggest that maternal antigen exposure pre-laying can result in increased fitness for both mothers and offspring, depending on food availability.

Family Functioning and Children's Sleep.

Sleep is a pivotal correlate and predictor of many domains of child development, including socioemotional adjustment, physical health, and cognitive functioning. The family plays a major role in shaping children's sleep-wake behaviors, and developmental research on children's sleep in a family context is on the rise. As in any relatively young field, many gaps and questions remain. In this article, we aim to advance this literature by illustrating ways to examine the interconnections between family functioning and children's sleep. We also call for increasing conceptual developments and testing of transactional models, using well-established and psychometrically sound objective and subjective measures, and expanding both the family functioning domains and sleep parameters assessed.

Parental problem drinking and children's sleep: The role of ethnicity and socioeconomic status.

We examined relations between mothers' and fathers' problem drinking and school-age children's sleep. Consistent with a health disparities perspective, children's ethnicity and socioeconomic status were examined as moderators of relations between parental problem drinking and children's sleep. Participants were 282 children (M age = 9.44 years) and their parents. Children were from diverse ethnic (65% White, 35% Black) and socioeconomic backgrounds. Using a multi-informant design, parents reported on their own problem drinking and children's sleep was assessed with actigraphs over 7 nights. After controlling for several influential covariates, moderation findings indicated that associations between heightened levels of parental problem drinking (predominately fathers') and children's shorter sleep duration, reduced sleep efficiency, and greater long wake episodes were most evident for Black children and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Findings are among the first to establish relations between parental problem drinking and children's sleep and indicate that not all children are at equal risk for sleep disturbances in such home environments. Results add to a growing literature that has examined children's sleep within the family context and highlight the importance of considering the broader sociocultural milieu. (PsycINFO Database Record

Longitudinal relations between constructive and destructive conflict and couples' sleep.

We examined longitudinal relations between interpartner constructive (negotiation) and destructive (psychological and physical aggression) conflict strategies and couples' sleep over 1 year. Toward explicating processes of effects, we assessed the intervening role of internalizing symptoms in associations between conflict tactics and couples' sleep. Participants were 135 cohabiting couples (M age = 37 years for women and 39 years for men). The sample included a large representation of couples exposed to economic adversity. Further, 68% were European American and the remainder were primarily African American. At Time 1 (T1), couples reported on their conflict and their mental health (depression, anxiety). At T1 and Time 2, sleep was examined objectively with actigraphs for 7 nights. Three sleep parameters were derived: efficiency, minutes, and latency. Actor-partner interdependence models indicated that husbands' use of constructive conflict forecasted increases in their own sleep efficiency as well as their own and their wives' sleep duration over time. Actor and partner effects emerged, and husbands' and wives' use of destructive conflict strategies generally predicted worsening of some sleep parameters over time. Several mediation and intervening effects were observed for destructive conflict strategies. Some of these relations reveal that destructive conflict is associated with internalizing symptoms, which in turn are associated with some sleep parameters longitudinally. These findings build on a small, albeit growing, literature linking sleep with marital functioning, and illustrate that consideration of relationship processes including constructive conflict holds promise for gaining a better understanding of factors that influence the sleep of men and women.

What keeps low-SES children from sleeping well: the role of presleep worries and sleep environment.

OBJECTIVES: Children in families of low socioeconomic status (SES) have been found to have poor sleep, yet the reasons for this finding are unclear. Two possible mediators, presleep worries and home environment conditions, were investigated as indirect pathways between SES and children's sleep. PARTICIPANTS/METHODS: The participants consisted of 271 children (M (age) = 11.33 years; standard deviation (SD) = 7.74 months) from families varying in SES as indexed by the income-to-needs ratio. Sleep was assessed with actigraphy (sleep minutes, night waking duration, and variability in sleep schedule) and child self-reported sleep/wake problems (e.g., oversleeping and trouble falling asleep) and sleepiness (e.g., sleeping in class and falling asleep while doing homework). Presleep worries and home environment conditions were assessed with questionnaires. RESULTS: Lower SES was associated with more subjective sleep/wake problems and daytime sleepiness, and increased exposure to disruptive sleep conditions and greater presleep worries were mediators of these associations. In addition, environmental conditions served as an intervening variable linking SES to variability in an actigraphy-derived sleep schedule, and, similarly, presleep worry was an intervening variable linking SES to actigraphy-based night waking duration. Across sleep parameters, the model explained 5-29% of variance. CONCLUSIONS: Sleep environment and psychological factors are associated with socioeconomic disparities, which affect children's sleep.

Income, ethnicity, and sleep: coping as a moderator.

Toward identifying variables that may protect children against sleep problems otherwise associated with ethnic minority status and economic adversity, support coping was examined as a moderator. Participants were 235 children (113 boys, 122 girls; M age = 11.33 years, SD = 8.03 months), 64% European American and 36% African American. Children's sleep duration (minutes) and continuity (efficiency) were assessed through actigraphs worn for 1 week. Mothers reported on the family's monetary resources (income-to-needs ratio) and children reported on their support coping strategies. For children from lower income homes and African Americans, a higher level of support coping was a protective factor against fewer sleep minutes and reduced sleep efficiency, otherwise associated with economic adversity. Children from more economically advantaged homes had good sleep parameters regardless of their coping. The results build on the existing small body of work by demonstrating that children's support coping strategies have a protective role against sleep problems otherwise associated with ethnic minority status and economic adversity and present potential targets for intervention that may help reduce health disparities in an important health domain.

Longitudinal relations between parent-child conflict and children's adjustment: the role of children's sleep.

Sleep was examined as a process variable in relations between verbal and physical parent-child conflict and change in children's internalizing and externalizing symptoms over time. Participants were 282 children at T1 (M age = 9.44 years; 48% girls), 280 children at T2 (M age = 10.41 years), and 275 children at T3 (M age = 11.35 years). Children reported on parent-child conflict, sleep was assessed with actigraphy, and parents reported on children's internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Autoregressive effects for sleep and internalizing and externalizing symptoms were controlled to examine change over time. Supportive of intervening processes, physical parent-child conflict at T1 and increased change in internalizing and externalizing symptoms at T3 were indirectly related through their shared association with reduced sleep continuity (efficiency, long wake episodes) at T2. Findings build on a small but growing literature and highlight the importance of considering the role of sleep in relations between family conflict and child development.

Reciprocal relations between children's sleep and their adjustment over time.

Child sleep and adjustment research with community samples is on the rise with a recognized need of explicating this association. We examined reciprocal relations between children's sleep and their internalizing and externalizing symptoms using 3 waves of data spanning 5 years. Participants included 176 children at Time 1 (M = 8.68 years; 69% European American, 31% African American), 141 children at Time 2 (M = 10.70 years), and 113 children at Time 3 (M = 13.60 years). Children were from a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds. Sleep was measured subjectively via self-reports and objectively via actigraphy and adjustment was assessed with parent and child reports. Cross-lagged panel models indicated that reduced sleep duration and worse sleep quality predicted greater depression, anxiety, and externalizing symptoms over time. To a lesser extent but supportive of reciprocal relations, adjustment predicted changes in sleep. Findings illustrate the reciprocal nature of relations between sleep and adjustment difficulties in otherwise typically developing youth.