Get started
Work

Quick to berate, slow to sleep: Interpartner psychological conflict, mental health, and sleep.

Year: 2013
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: OBJECTIVE: Relations between interpartner psychological conflict (IPC) and the sleep of men and women were examined, and depression and anxiety symptoms were assessed as intervening variables of these associations. METHOD: Participants were 135 cohabiting or married couples. The mean age was 36.50 (SD = 5.93) for women and 39.37 (SD = 7.33) for men. Most women (76%) and men (78%) were European American (EA) and the rest were predominantly African American (AA); there was a wide socioeconomic representation. Men and women reported on IPC used by their partner against them. Sleep was examined objectively with actigraphs, and multiple sleep quantity and quality measures were derived. RESULTS: Dyadic path analysis in which both actor and partner effects were assessed was conducted. For women, greater IPC by the partner was related to elevated levels of anxiety, which in turn was associated with shorter sleep duration and worse sleep efficiency; anxiety was an intervening variable. For men, IPC by the partner was related to greater symptoms of anxiety and depression; the latter was an intervening variable linking IPC with sleep quality (lower efficiency, longer latency). Some partner effects were observed and indicate that for both men and women, one's perpetration of IPC is related to increased anxiety in the partner, which in turn is related to longer sleep latency for the actor. CONCLUSION: Results build on this scant literature, and using objective well-validated measures of sleep highlight the importance of relationship processes and mental health for the sleep of men and women.
DOI: 10.1037/a0031786
Institution: Auburn University
Language: English
Field: Psychology
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2011131028
FWCI: 6.309
Cites: 60
Cited by: 51
Related to: 10