Adding fuel to the fire: How childhood and adolescent histories of interparental conflict amplify sleep problems during the transition to emerging adulthood

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.