Childhood Trauma and Adult Loneliness as Predictors of Sleep Health in Blackfeet American Indian Adults

Abstract

Background: Prior work links childhood trauma and adult loneliness to sleep health in adulthood in Blackfeet American Indian adults. In the current study, in a sample of 275 Blackfeet American Indian adults, we investigated whether the relationship between childhood traumatic events and adult sleep health is moderated by reported levels of loneliness in adulthood. We hypothesized that low levels of adult loneliness may offset the negative impact of childhood trauma exposure on sleep health in adulthood. Method: The study utilizes Community Based Participatory Research methods and approaches and is based on a long-standing research partnership between faculty at Montana State University and Blackfeet Community College. Results: Using a linear regression, controlling for age, gender, and education, we found that adult loneliness was a significant moderator of the relationship between childhood trauma and sleep health in adulthood (B = -0.19, t(264) = -3.13, p = 0.002). Simple slopes analyses indicated that the relationship between high levels of childhood trauma and poor sleep health was only evident for individuals who also reported high levels of adult loneliness. Conclusion: The current findings suggest that interventions targeting adult loneliness may reduce the risk for poor sleep health typically associated with high levels of childhood trauma.