Family context during adolescence and sleep behavior during young adulthood: The role of leaving home transition

Objectives: This study seeks to delineate the effects of family context during adolescence, namely family structure, parent-child relationship, and parental monitoring, and their longitudinal associations with sleep behaviors during young adulthood, with a focus on a possible moderating effect of leaving home transition. Methods: Data were retrieved from the Taiwan Youth Project (TYP) (N=2,123, and consisted of a two-cohort sample from 12th grade at school up to an age of around 20 years, these cohorts consisted of a 7th-grade one from 2005 to 2007 and a 9th-grade one from 2003 to 2004). Sleep duration (short, recommended [7h-9h], and long) was analyzed by multinomial logistic regression, while insomnia symptoms were analyzed by negative binomial regression. Results: Youth living in a one-parent family during adolescence had an increased risk of long sleep duration during young adulthood (Relative Risk Ratio [RRR] 1.52, 95% CI 1.02- 2.25); whereas those with a more positive relationship with parents, or receiving more parental monitoring, were less likely to experience short sleep duration (RRR 0.75 95% CI 0.61-0.92; RRR 0.91, 95% CI 0.85-0.97). Moreover, youth with a more positive parent-child relationship were also found to be at lower risk of insomnia symptoms (Incidence Rate Ratio [IRR] 0.90, 95% CI 0.83-0.98). Furthermore, when the sample was restricted to those who had left home during young adulthood, the effects of a positive parent-child relationship and parental monitoring remain significant and had the same effect on the various sleep behaviors. Conclusions: Our results suggest that the importance of family context and its longitudinal association with sleep behaviors. To prevent an unrecommended sleep duration and the development of insomnia symptoms during young adulthood, early intervention that targets parent-child relationships and parental monitoring are suggested as a priority.