Parents working non-standard schedules and schools operating in two shifts: Effects on sleep and daytime functioning of adolescents

Abstract

This chapter examines how parental engagement in shift work affects sleep and daytime functioning in adolescents. The subject is introduced by an overview of biological and contextual factors that determine sleep in adolescents, and of parental influences on adolescents’ sleep. In a new study, we explored the effects of parents’ shift work on sleep quality and daytime functioning of adolescents. Data came from primary-school adolescents (11-14 years) and secondary-school adolescents (15-18 years) from Croatia (N = 1368), who were living with both employed parents, of whom both, one or neither were shift workers. The adolescents’ school schedule alternated between a week of morning classes and a week of afternoon classes. We did not find any negative effect of parents’ shift work on the sleep quality of adolescents. However, we found a significant negative effect on depressed mood for all adolescents (p < 0.01, eta = 0.10), and a negative effect on daytime sleepiness limited to secondary-school adolescents (p < 0.05, eta = 0.22). Sleepiness made the greatest contribution to depressed mood (ß = 0.42, p < 0.001), but it did not cancel out the contribution of shift work (when both parents were shift workers) as a predictor of depressed mood (ß = 0.09, p < 0.001). The results add to previous knowledge on the negative effects of parents’ engagement in shift work on the sleep patterns of adolescents. Implications for future studies are discussed.