Sleep disturbance mediates the association of adverse childhood experiences with mental health symptoms and functional impairment in US soldiers

Abstract

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can have long-term impacts on a person's mental health, which extend into adulthood. There is a high prevalence of ACEs among service members. Further, service members also report frequently experiencing disrupted sleep. We hypothesized that disrupted sleep may serve a mechanistic function connecting ACEs to functional impairment and poorer mental health. In a cross-sectional sample (n = 759), we found evidence for an indirect effect of ACEs on mental health outcomes through disrupted sleep. In a different sample using two time-points (n = 410), we found evidence for an indirect effect of ACEs on changes in mental health outcomes and functional impairment during a reset period, through changes in disrupted sleep during the same period. Implications, limitations and future research directions are discussed.