The Investigation of Sleep Patterns in Relation to Interpersonal Violence Victimization and Mental Health in Adolescent Girls

Empirical studies reveal that interpersonal violence victimization is a highly prevalent phenomena in youth and is associated with a host of difficulties, including mental, physical, and behavioral issues. Sleep, a developmentally fundamental process, is implicated in these unfavorable effects. Despite this, little is known about the interplay between interpersonal violence victimization, sleep, and mental health in adolescent girls, who are at greater risk of victimization, sleep problems, and mental health difficulties than boys. Objective: The aim of the current study was to identify distinct patterns of sleep problems to understand how they are associated with interpersonal violence victimization and key mental health outcomes, namely dissociation and emotional dysregulation. Method: Latent class analyses were conducted on a sample of 706 adolescent girls aged 14-18 (88% of Canadian descent), who completed an online survey. Results: Three classes of sleep were identified: poor-, moderate-, and high-quality sleep. Controlling for posttraumatic stress disorder, classes were found to differ regarding childhood sexual abuse, community violence, and emotional abuse. In addition, exposure to community violence was associated with dissociation only among girls in the poor-quality sleep class, indicating a moderation effect of sleep. Conclusion: The findings of this study, while awaiting replication with a more diverse sample, highlight the continued need to understand the interplay between interpersonal violence and sleep quality, which can help to inform trauma-focused clinical interventions. Interpersonal violence is highly prevalent and detrimental to adolescents' health. Our study confirms its negative impact on adolescent girls' sleep and mental health. In this context, universal prevention campaigns are warranted to reduce interpersonal violence and foster positive relationships within families, but also within communities. For girls suffering from sleep problems following a traumatic event, trauma-focused or sleep-focused interventions could be offered as studies show that both are helpful in treating sleep disturbances in this population. Furthermore, many adolescent girls in our study, victimized or not, reported suboptimal sleep. Thus, universal campaigns on positive sleep habits may be warranted.