NSF Study

Funded by National Science Foundation (NSF)

Grant # 0339115, 0623936 and 0843185
El-Sheikh, M. (PI)
0339115: 8/1/2004 – 7/31/2007 (Wave 1)
0623936: 8/1/2006 – 7/31/2008 (Wave 2)
0843185: 4/15/2009 – 3/31/2011 (Wave 3)

The Study

Funded by three consecutive awards from the National Science Foundation, this study followed children and their mothers and fathers from middle childhood into early adolescence. At Wave 1 (2004), 176 children (M age = 8.68 years; 69% White/European American, 31% Black/African American) from a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds participated. Families returned 2 years later (Wave 2, M age = 10.70 years) and 5 years after Wave 1 (Wave 3, M age = 13.60 years). Children's sleep was assessed objectively with actigraphy and through self-reports, and mothers, fathers and children reported on family functioning and children's adjustment. Children also participated in laboratory sessions in which sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system activity and cognitive functioning were assessed.

Key Findings

Interparental (marital) conflict was associated with disruptions in the quantity and quality of children's sleep. Relations between marital conflict and children's sleep were reciprocal over time and more pronounced for Black/African American children and children from lower socioeconomic status homes. Shorter sleep duration and lower sleep quality predicted increases in depression, anxiety and externalizing symptoms over time, and, to a lesser extent, adjustment problems predicted changes in sleep.