Poor sleep and reactive aggression: Results from a national sample of African American adults
Section snippets
Current study aim
We know that poor sleep can have important implications for a variety of health outcomes, and some evidence suggests a link between sleep and aggressive behavior. However, few studies have looked at this relationship among African-American groups in the United States, especially using nationally representative epidemiologic samples. Given the heightened stressors confronted by African Americans, including their extensive experiences of discrimination and greater involvement in violence in the
Sample and procedures
Study findings are based on data from the National Survey of American Life (NSAL) and the NSAL Adult Re-Interview (RIW; Jackson et al., 2004). The NSAL/RIW is a nationally representative sample of non-institutionalized African-American, Caribbean Black, and non-Hispanic white adults ages 18 and older in the United States. The survey gathered background data and extensive information about mental disorders from individuals living in households across the United States. The current study
Sleep and reactive aggression
As revealed in Table 1, individuals reporting reactive aggression were significantly more likely to be between the ages of 18 and 34 (AOR = 3.43, 95% CI = 1.34–8.78), male (AOR = 1.99, 95% CI = 1.28–3.09), and to have earned less than a high school education (AOR = 5.19, 95% CI = 1.60–16.84). In controlling for other sociodemographic and psychiatric factors, no significant associations were identified for race/ethnicity, household income, marital status, or any of the psychiatric control
Discussion
Sleep is a key to good health and poor sleep compromises well-being. To our knowledge, the present study is the largest investigation to date examining the relationship between poor sleep and reactive violence among African-Americans. Consistent with the study hypothesis, we found that poor sleep quality and sleep duration were associated with increased likelihood of reactive aggression. In particular, we found that individuals who reported sleeping on average less than 5 h per night were
Role of funding source
The authors wish to confirm that there has been no significant financial support for this work that could have influenced its outcome.
Contributors
Michael Vaughn conceptualized the study and led the literature review, study design, and analytic strategy. Christopher Salas-Wright conducted the statistical analysis. Norman White and Kristen Kremer reviewed literature and contributed writing. All authors have approved the final manuscript.
Conflict of interest
The authors wish to confirm that there are no known financial or personal conflicts of interest associated with this publication that could have influenced its outcome.
Acknowledgment
The authors do not wish to make any additional acknowledgements for contribution to this manuscript.
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