Associations Between Everyday Discrimination and Sleep: Tests of Moderation by Ethnicity and Sense of Purpose. Issue 12 (24th March 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hill, Patrick L; Sin, Nancy L; Edmonds, Grant W; Burrow, Anthony L
• Is Part Of: Annals of behavioral medicine. Volume 55:Issue 12(2021)
• Page Start: 1246
• Page End: 1252
• Publication Date: 2021-03-24
• Subjects: Everyday discrimination -- Sleep -- Native Hawaiians -- Japanese-Americans -- Sense of purpose; Medicine and psychology -- Periodicals; Sick -- Psychology -- Periodicals; Behavioral Medicine; 616.0019
• DOI: 10.1093/abm/kaab012
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0883-6612

Abstract

Abstract: Background: Everyday discrimination holds pernicious effects across most aspects of health, including a pronounced stress response. However, work is needed on when discrimination predicts sleep outcomes, with respect to potential moderators of these associations. Purpose: The current study sought to advance the past literature by examining the associations between everyday discrimination and sleep outcomes in an ethnically diverse sample, allowing tests of moderation by ethnic group. We also examined the role of sense of purpose, a potential resilience factor, as another moderator. Methods: Participants in the Hawaii Longitudinal Study of Personality and Health ( n = 758; 52.8% female; m age : 60 years, sd = 2.03) completed assessments for everyday discrimination, sleep duration, daytime dysfunction due to sleep, sleep quality, and sense of purpose. Results: In the full sample, everyday discrimination was negatively associated with sleep duration, sleep quality, and sense of purpose, while positively associated with daytime dysfunction due to sleep. The associations were similar in magnitude across ethnic groups (Native Hawaiian, White/Caucasian, Japanese/Japanese-American), and were not moderated by sense of purpose, a potential resilience factor. Conclusions: The ill-effects on health due to everyday discrimination may operate in part on its role in disrupting sleep, an issue that appears to similarly impact several groups. The current research extends these findings to underrepresented groups in the discrimination and sleep literature. Future research is needed to better disentangle the day-to-day associations between sleep and discrimination, and identify which sources of discrimination may be most problematic. Abstract : Greater everyday discrimination was consistently associated with poorer sleep, even when considering ethnicity and sense of purpose as factors that might shape these associations.