Dating Aggression and Sleep Problems in Emerging Adulthood

Abstract

Using a multimethod approach, we examined relations between dating aggression and sleep in emerging adulthood. Participants were 108 dating couples from diverse ethnic and educational backgrounds (49% were cohabiting). Women and men self-reported on the frequency to which they perpetrated psychological and physical aggression toward their partners. Actigraphs were worn for seven consecutive nights and measured sleep duration, sleep efficiency, and long wake episodes. Participants also self-reported on their cognitive and somatic presleep arousal. After controlling for many covariates, actor–partner interdependence models revealed that women and men who perpetrated higher levels of aggression were at greater risk for disruption in many actigraphy and self-reported sleep domains. Partner effects also emerged and indicated that an individual’s perpetration of aggression related to greater disruption in their partner’s sleep. Findings build on this scant literature and demonstrate relations between a prevalent social stressor and a fundamental facet of emerging adults’ health.