A recent study published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry (2022) examined how youths' perceptions of their sleep quality contribute to offending in young adulthood.
Using a sample of 1,216 justice-involved male youth, this study uses within-individual longitudinal methods (fixed-effects Poisson regression models) to examine the relation between changes in perceptions of sleep quality and changes in offending behavior from ages 13 to 24.
Increases in sleep problems are associated with increases in offending, particularly aggressive/person-related offenses, for both adolescents and young adults.
Improving sleep quality may be critical for reducing aggressive behavior in at-risk adolescents and young adults.
Interventions that address sleep quality, and not just quantity, may be particularly beneficial.
Research we’ve been presenting over the years indicates that sleep patterns are key behaviors to include in programs aimed at preventing youth violence, just as they are for preventing youth substance use and promoting mental health.
Read the study abstract: https://acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jcpp.13646