The Relationship Between Baseline Sleep and Two-Year Impulsivity in Adolescents in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Study

College of Letters & Science, Lisdahl, Krista, Mentor, Neely, Makayla, Poster Presentation, Psychology, School and College, Student

Makayla Neely, “The Relationship Between Baseline Sleep and Two-Year Impulsivity in Adolescents in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Study”
Mentor: Krista Lisdahl, Psychology
Poster #121

Adolescence is a period of rapid brain development that involves changes in sleep, including shorter sleep duration, later sleep times, and poorer sleep continuity. Inadequate sleep contributes to negative mental health outcomes, including anxiety, depression, and impaired neurocognition, for example impulsivity. Sleep disruption has been found to be related to increased risk taking and poor response inhibition in adolescents, leading to downstream problem behaviors such as substance use. This study investigated the relationship between baseline sleep and two-year impulsivity in adolescents in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (ABCD). This study investigates the relationship between baseline sleep and two-year impulsivity in pre-adolescents. This study used two waves of the ABCD Study including 9,530 youth recruited at ages 9-10 years old. Sleep was assessed via the Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children completed by parents at the baseline visit. Impulsivity was assessed via the Behavioral Inhibition/Behavioral Approach System (BIS/BAS) survey completed by youth at baseline and at the two-year follow-up. A linear mixed effects model was used to investigate the relationship between baseline sleep and two-year impulsivity in adolescents. Increased sleep disruption, adjusting for baseline BIS/BAS scores, sex, and perceived risk, was significantly associated with increased impulsivity at the two-year follow-up (B = 8.711, F(1, 9180.9) = 6.6167, p = .0101). Sex did not moderate the relationship between sleep and impulsivity. Results suggest sleep disruption was significantly associated with increased impulsivity two years later as children age into early adolescence. These findings suggest long-term negative impacts of late childhood sleep deprivation on adolescent neurocognition. Future studies should investigate the relationship between sleep and impulsivity and the downstream effects on mental health.