Sleep and aggression in substance-abusing adolescents: results from an integrative behavioral sleep-treatment pilot program.
OBJECTIVE
To examine whether change in total sleep time during an integrative, behavioral sleep intervention is associated with aggression. Specifically, we tested whether adolescents who reported experiencing aggressive thoughts or actions after treatment had worse treatment trajectories (e.g., less total sleep time across treatment) than adolescents with no aggressive thoughts or actions after treatment.


METHODS
Nonpharmacologic open trial with 9 weeks of weekly assessment.


METHODS
University of Arizona Sleep Research Laboratory


METHODS
Twenty-three adolescents recently treated for substance abuse in outpatient community centers.


METHODS
Six-week integrative, behavioral sleep intervention.


RESULTS
Weekly sleep-summary indexes were calculated from daily sleep diaries and entered as dependent variables in a series of growth-curve analyses. Statistically significant Session x Post-treatment Aggressive Ideation interactions emerged when predicting changes in total sleep time, gamma13 = 9.76 (SE = 4.12), p < .05, and time spent in bed, gamma13 = 10.08, (SE = 4.33), p < .05, even after controlling for aggressive ideation and the frequency of substance use, as assessed at baseline. A similar pattern of results was seen for self-reported aggressive actions occurring during conflicts.


CONCLUSIONS
These pilot data suggest that inadequate sleep in substance-abusing adolescents may contribute to the experiencing of aggressive thoughts and actions. Limitations include a small sample size and a restricted assessment of aggression. Nonetheless, these findings lend preliminary support to the breadth of therapeutic effectiveness of an integrative, behavioral sleep-therapy program for adolescents with a history of substance abuse and related behaviors.
Haynes
Patricia L
PL
Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85724-5002, USA. thaynes@email.arizona.edu
Bootzin
Richard R
RR
Smith
Leisha
L
Cousins
Jennifer
J
Cameron
Michael
M
Stevens
Sally
S