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Mental health and sleep disparities in an urban college sample: A longitudinal examination of White and Black students
Author(s) -
Dzierzewski Joseph M.,
Ravyts Scott G.,
Dautovich Natalie D.,
Perez Elliottnell,
Schreiber Dana,
Rybarczyk Bruce D.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.124
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1097-4679
pISSN - 0021-9762
DOI - 10.1002/jclp.22974
Subject(s) - mental health , anxiety , psychology , depression (economics) , clinical psychology , sleep (system call) , dysfunctional family , mediation , health equity , population , psychiatry , gerontology , medicine , public health , nursing , environmental health , computer science , political science , law , economics , macroeconomics , operating system
Objective Racial disparities in sleep may be consequential among college students given high rates of dysfunctional sleep among this population. The present study sought to investigate whether disparities in sleep explain existing mental health disparities. Method Data included secondary analysis of a college risk behaviors and health study ( n = 1242, mean age = 18.5). Race was dichotomized as White or Black, excluding all others, with participants completing measures of sleep at baseline and measures of depression and anxiety at follow‐up 1 to 2 years later. Results Compared to White students, Black students were more likely to report lower rates of depression and anxiety, but poorer sleep outcomes. Mediation analyses revealed that sleep partially mediated (suppressed) the association between race and depressive and anxiety symptoms. Conclusions Results indicate that disparities in sleep may play an important role in the association between race and mental health symptoms among college students. Future health disparity research would benefit from exploring the potentially bidirectional relationship between sleep and mental health symptoms among college students.