Childhood Trauma and Sleep Among Young Adults With a History of Depression: A Daily Diary Study

• Main Authors: Jessica L. Hamilton, Ryan C. Brindle, Lauren B. Alloy, Richard T. Liu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2018-12-01
• Series: Frontiers in Psychiatry
• Subjects: depression; child maltreatment; emotional neglect; insomnia; sleep
• Online Access: https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00673/full

Child maltreatment and sleep disturbances are particularly prevalent among individuals with a history of depression. However, the precise relation between child maltreatment and sleep within this population is unclear. The present study evaluated childhood maltreatment and trauma as a predictor of sleep duration and insomnia symptoms among young adults with prior depression. A total of 102 young adults (18–22; 78% female) with a history of clinical or subclinical depression completed an in-person visit with diagnostic interviews and questionnaires of childhood trauma (maltreatment and general trauma), and 2 weeks of daily assessments of sleep and depressive symptoms using internet-capable devices. Using multilevel modeling, we found that only childhood emotional neglect significantly predicted higher levels of insomnia symptoms over the 2 weeks, controlling for daily depression. Neither childhood maltreatment nor trauma predicted sleep duration. Our findings highlight a unique relationship between emotional neglect and insomnia symptoms among individuals with a depression history that, given prior research, may potentially play a role in depression recurrence and represent a potential treatment target.