Nature and Science of Sleep (Jul 2022)

Can You Sleep? – Effect of Retrospective Recall of Child Maltreatment on Sleep Parameters and the Mediating Role of Psychological Distress Among Students of Two German Universities

  • Jarczok M,
  • Lange S,
  • Domhardt M,
  • Baumeister H,
  • Jud A

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 14
pp. 1299 – 1310

Abstract

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Marion Jarczok,1,* Stephanie Lange,1,* Matthias Domhardt,2 Harald Baumeister,2 Andreas Jud1,3 1Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Ulm, Ulm, Germany; 2Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Institute of Psychology and Education, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany; 3School of Social Work, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Lucerne, Switzerland*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Marion Jarczok, Department of Child and Adolescent, Psychiatry/Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Ulm, Steinhövelstraße 5, Ulm, BW, 89075, Germany, Tel +49 731 500-61610, Fax +49 731 500-61602, Email [email protected]: Child maltreatment may be linked with long-term sleeping disorders and limited coping with stress. Yet, the potential relationships are only marginally studied.Patients and Methods: Based on a sample of young adults (n = 312) this study aims at exploring the effects of child maltreatment and the experience of threat to personal safety and life in childhood on sleep disturbances in early adulthood. Data were collected at the two study sites, Ulm University and Bielefeld University, by an online survey. For both risk factors, child maltreatment and the experience of threat to personal safety and life in childhood, a direct impact on sleep disturbances and an indirect path via psychological distress were tested using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM).Results: In these models, the direct path to sleep disturbances turned out to be significant for the experience of threat to personal safety and life (Path C: b = 0.18, p = 0.013), but not for child maltreatment (Path C: b = 0.05, p = 0.491). However, the current level of psychological distress was found to have a mediating effect on sleep disturbances for both risk factors, thereby confirming indirect significant effects.Conclusion: Considering that the etiological pathway of child maltreatment on sleeping disturbances is mediated via psychological distress, this provides a venue to test in future research whether stress reduction interventions can reduce the negative consequences of child maltreatment on sleep disorders.Keywords: sleep disorders, child maltreatment, stress, unsafety, structural equation modelling

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