Abstract
The rate of Latinx migration to the U.S. has risen rapidly over the last several decades. Recognizing that Latinx migrant youth are exposed to a high rate of adverse events and that sleep has potential buffering effects on mental health, the current study aimed to examine sleep duration as a moderator of the link between childhood adversity and emotional and behavioral symptoms among Latinx migrant youth. One hundred and twelve first-generation migrants of Latinx ethnicity (and 46 caregivers) participated in this study; the average age was 19 (SD = 2). Participants self-reported demographics: 59.8% of participants were male, with the racial breakdown as follows: 38.8% white, 6.1% black, 4.1% mixed race, and 51% marked "other." Data were collected from a public high school for immigrant youth in the Southwestern U.S. and included average sleep duration, Adverse Childhood Experiences; the Child PTSD Symptoms Scale and the Child Behavior Checklist. Findings indicated experiences of neglect in childhood were associated with youth-reported mental health symptoms, but this relation was significantly moderated by sleep duration such that the relation was weakened in the presence of high sleep duration. Both effects were statistically significant and of medium size. Caregiver reports supported the buffering effects of sleep; medium or large interactions between sleep and all three adversity variables (abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction) were noted in multivariate analyses. The current study takes an important first step in identifying that short sleep duration is prevalent among Central American immigrant youth. Findings suggest that sleep duration has important public health potential as a means of buffering the effects of childhood adversity on mental health in a vulnerable group.