Childhood trauma as a predictor of changes in sleep quality in American Indian adults during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Background: Early life adversity associates with poor sleep in adulthood and is believed to sensitize individuals to later stressors. Infectious disease outbreaks increase psychological stress, and life events impact sleep quality. American Indians have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective: Investigate whether childhood trauma predicts changes in sleep quality following onset of the pandemic and test whether pandemic stress contributes to changes in sleep.

Methods: In a sample of 210 American Indian adults (Age M (SD) = 55.09 (13.10), 59.5% female) demographics, childhood trauma and sleep quality were measured at Time 1. One month following the onset of the pandemic, psychological stress specific to the pandemic and sleep quality were measured.

Results: Using linear regression controlling for age, sex, income, and sleep quality at Time 1, childhood adversity predicted both psychological stress specific to the pandemic and changes in sleep quality from Time 1 to Time 2 (β = 0.33, t(205) = 4.88, P < .001, ΔR² = 0.10) and (β = 0.24, t(204) = 3.48, P < .001, ΔR² = 0.05), respectively. Mediation analyses indicated a significant indirect effect between childhood adversity and changes in sleep quality through COVID-19 stress (indirect effect [standard error, SE] = (0.03[0.01], 95% confidence interval = [0.003, 0.03]).

Conclusions: In American Indians childhood trauma predicts greater declines in sleep quality associated with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, in part because greater psychological stress related to COVID-19. Future work should identify factors which alleviate stress related to life events for individuals who experienced childhood trauma in order to improve health behaviors and health.

Keywords: American Indians; COVID-19; Childhood trauma; Sleep.