The study examined whether change in childhood interparental conflict (IPC) moderated links between change in adolescent IPC and sleep from adolescence to emerging adulthood. Participants (N = 351, 52% female, 67% European American, 32% African American, 1% biracial) from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds in the Southeastern United States completed five waves of data collection (Mages = 8, 10, 15, 17, 22) between 2005 and 2022. Actigraphs measured sleep duration and quality. Participants reported on parents' IPC. Latent change score models examined change-on-change in IPC and sleep. Among those with histories of increasing childhood IPC, increases in adolescent IPC predicted increases in sleep activity (β = .24) and long-wake episodes (β = .22) and decreases in sleep efficiency (β = -.20) from adolescence to emerging adulthood. Findings are consistent with stress sensitization.
Thompson et al. (Thu,) studied this question.