Can You Sleep? – Effect of Retrospective Recall of Child Maltreatment on Sleep Parameters and the Mediating Role of Psychological Distress Among Students of Two German Universities
Purpose: Child maltreatment may be linked with long-term sleeping disorders and limited coping with stress. Yet, the potential
relationships are only marginally studied.
Patients and Methods: Based on a sample of young adults (n = 312) this study aims at exploring the effects of child maltreatment
and the experience of threat to personal safety and life in childhood on sleep disturbances in early adulthood. Data were collected at the
two study sites, Ulm University and Bielefeld University, by an online survey. For both risk factors, child maltreatment and the
experience of threat to personal safety and life in childhood, a direct impact on sleep disturbances and an indirect path via
psychological distress were tested using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM).
Results: In these models, the direct path to sleep disturbances turned out to be significant for the experience of threat to personal
safety and life (Path C: b = 0.18, p = 0.013), but not for child maltreatment (Path C: b = 0.05, p = 0.491). However, the current level of
psychological distress was found to have a mediating effect on sleep disturbances for both risk factors, thereby confirming indirect
significant effects.
Conclusion: Considering that the etiological pathway of child maltreatment on sleeping disturbances is mediated via psychological
distress, this provides a venue to test in future research whether stress reduction interventions can reduce the negative consequences of
child maltreatment on sleep disorders