Childhood abuse is linked to poor sleep in adult women
Geraldine O’Bryan, Sarah M. TashjianBackground
Women are disproportionately affected by poor sleep, both in terms of quantity and quality. One relatively unexplored association with poor sleep is adverse childhood experiences, which also disproportionately affect women. Prior research treats all adverse experiences as equivalent, focusing on the number of adverse events rather than the types of adversity experienced. This cumulative focus, while valuable for identifying dose-dependent responses, overlooks how different adversities are detrimental for women’s health.
Methods
We investigated how adversity contributed to sleep issues in a sample of treatment-seeking women (
Results
Women having experienced abuse-related adversity (emotional and/or physical) as well as multiple forms of adversity (high cumulative scores) were more likely to experience worse sleep. Those experiencing abuse experienced sleep issues even when their cumulative adversity scores did not reach clinical thresholds. Women classified within household dysfunction and low cumulative scores did not report deleterious sleep.
Conclusion
Findings suggest that specific patterns of childhood adversity uniquely contribute to adult sleep issues among women. These women are not captured in cumulative scoring methods, potentially leading to their abuse histories being overlooked in clinical settings. This study underscores the importance of using dimensional approaches to ACE research and highlights the enduring impact of childhood adversity on women’s sleep health.