Socioecological factors, including mental health, cultural orientation, and cultural values, significantly shape insomnia symptoms and treatment preferences among Hispanic/Latinx adults.
Abstract Introduction Racial and ethnic disparities in sleep consistently demonstrate that minoritized populations experience poorer sleep compared to non-Hispanic White adults, a pattern evident in Hispanic/Latinx (H/L) individuals. Despite this, few studies have investigated the socioecological factors that shape sleep outcomes and treatment preferences in this population. The present study examined associations between socioecological factors, insomnia symptoms, and insomnia treatment preferences across the lifespan in H/L adults. Methods Participants were 1,072 self-identified H/L adults (63.3% female; Meanage=36.43 years) enrolled in the SIESTA (Sleep In Emerging-adults and Stress Response To Acculturation) study. Participants completed an online survey assessing cultural orientation (ARSMA-II), cultural values (MACVS), perceived discrimination (EDS), mental health (GAD-7 and PHQ-9), beliefs and attitudes about sleep (DBAS-16), insomnia symptoms (ISI), and insomnia treatment preferences (ITAS-B/M). Three hierarchical regression models were conducted, with individual-, social-, and societal-level predictors entered sequentially to evaluate their contributions to insomnia symptoms and to behavioral and pharmacological treatment preferences. Results All three hierarchical regression models revealed significant associations. The insomnia symptoms model explained 54% of the variance (R² = .540, F(9, 1,062) = 138.73, p .001), with anxiety, depression, and dysfunctional sleep beliefs as significant predictors. The behavioral treatment model accounted for 24.2% of the variance (R² = .242, F(9, 1,062) = 37.64, p .001), with dysfunctional sleep beliefs, acculturation, enculturation, familismo, and religiosity as significant predictors. The pharmacological treatment model accounted for 33.5% of the variance (R² = .335, F(9, 1,062) = 59.58, p .001), with age, dysfunctional sleep beliefs, acculturation, familismo, and religiosity as significant predictors. Conclusion Findings underscore the importance of adopting a socioecological perspective to better understand sleep among H/L adults. Insomnia symptoms and treatment preferences were shaped by age, mental health, cultural orientation, and cultural values, highlighting the relevance of these factors. These results emphasize the need for sleep research and clinical care that integrate cultural and environmental influences. A broader socioecological approach may enhance the identification of sleep needs and support more effective, culturally responsive treatment planning for H/L adults. Support (if any) This work was supported by the National Institute on Aging (K23AG049955, PI: Dzierzewski).
Soto et al. (Fri,) studied this question.