The effects of family dysfunction trajectories during childhood and early adolescence on sleep quality during late adolescence: Resilience as a mediator

Abstract Rationale Sleep quality has been linked to several behavioral and psychological problems. No longitudinal study has examined the associations and underlying mechanisms between the trajectories of family characteristics and sleep quality in adolescents. Objective This study investigates the effects of heterogeneous trajectories of family dysfunction on sleep quality in adolescents and examines whether resilience mediates these associations. Method Data came from 2280 adolescents participating in a longitudinal study across grades 2 through 11 in northern Taiwan. Group-based trajectory modeling was used to identify discrete developmental patterns of family dysfunction. Multiple linear regression was applied to examine the associations between family dysfunction trajectories and sleep quality. Mediation analysis was conducted to test whether resilience mediates the associations examined. Results Four distinct trajectories of family dysfunction were identified: low persistent (26%), escalating dysfunction (21%), moderate stable (25%), and high persistent (28%). Compared to adolescents in the low-persistent trajectory, those in the escalating-dysfunction, moderate-stable, and high-persistent trajectories had significant lower levels of sleep quality ( B  = −0.19, p B  = −0.14, p B  = −0.13, p Conclusions Family dysfunction conferred risks for poor sleep quality in adolescents and the negative effects, in part, were through decreasing resilience. Interventions to improve sleep quality in adolescents by targeting family function may be more effective when incorporating resilience.