Gender Identity Disparities in Early Adolescent Sleep: Findings from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study

Purpose: Our aim was to examine associations between transgender identity and sleep disturbance in a demographically diverse, national sample of U.S. early adolescents. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study from Year 3 (2019-2021, n = 10,277, 12-13 years) to investigate the association between transgender identity and caregiver-reported measures of their adolescent's sleep, assessed by the Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children. Results: Transgender adolescents had a higher risk of overall sleep disturbance and symptoms of insomnia and excessive sleepiness. Furthermore, per caregiver report, transgender adolescents were more likely to have shorter sleep duration categories; particularly concerning is the significant risk of <5 hours of sleep for transgender adolescents compared with their cisgender peers. Conclusion: These findings indicate that transgender adolescents had worse caregiver-reported sleep outcomes compared to cisgender peers. This study highlights the need for screenings and interventions targeted at improving sleep among transgender adolescents.