Parent-child relationship quality and sleep among adolescents: modification by race/ethnicity

Background: Both parent-child relationship quality (PCRQ) and sleep are important for health and development, but few studies have examined links between PCRQ and adolescent sleep and potential interactions by race/ethnicity or sex.

Methods: We used cross-sectional data from 6,019 participants (mean = 15.9 years; 50% male; 66% non-Hispanic White, 16% non-Hispanic Black, 5% Hispanic all races) from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, a nationally representative sample of U.S. adolescents. Our exposure was current adolescent-rated PCRQ score. Outcomes were adolescents' reports of chronic insufficient sleep, sleep duration (mins), and frequency of insomnia symptoms (i.e., trouble falling or staying asleep "almost every day"/"every day" versus "never"/"just a few times"/"about once a week").

Results: Adjusting for demographic characteristics, each 1-point increase in PCRQ score was associated with lower odds of insomnia symptoms (odds ratio [OR] = 0.92, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.90, 0.94), chronic insufficient sleep (OR = 0.93, 95% CI: 0.91, 0.95), and longer sleep duration (B = 2.56, 95% CI: 1.90, 3.22). After adjustment for depressive symptoms, the association with insomnia symptoms was no longer statistically significant. Race/ethnicity moderated the association between PCRQ and chronic insufficient sleep such that the magnitude of the association was greater in Hispanics vs. Whites and Blacks. There were no interactions of PCRQ with sex.

Conclusions: Among adolescents, better PCRQ was associated with better sleep, and this association varied by race/ethnicity for perceived chronic insufficient sleep. Longitudinal studies with objective and subjective sleep measures are needed to further understand these associations.