title: Increased risk for school violence-related behaviors among adolescents with insufficient sleep.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  School violence is associated with significant acute and long-term negative health outcomes. Previous investigations have largely neglected the role of pertinent health behaviors in school violence, including sleep. Insufficient sleep is associated with adverse physical, behavioral, and psychosocial consequences among adolescents, many of which are concurrently implicated in youth violence. This study examined the relationship between insufficient sleep and school violence behaviors in a nationally representative sample of high school students.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used data from the 2009 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). Logistic regression analyses evaluated the association between insufficient sleep and school violence behaviors, controlling for demographic factors. In addition to examining main effects, interaction terms were entered into the models to examine whether potential associations varied by sex or race/ethnicity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Students with insufficient sleep had higher odds of engaging in the majority of school violence-related behaviors examined compared to students with sufficient sleep. Males with insufficient sleep were at increased risk of weapon carrying at school, a finding not observed for females with insufficient sleep. White students with insufficient sleep had higher odds of missing school because of safety concerns, a pattern that did not emerge among Black and Hispanic/Latino students.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results highlight the potential value of incorporating sleep education interventions into school-based violence prevention programs and underline the need for further examination of the relationship between sleep and school violence among adolescents.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Drexel University, 3141 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. akh38@drexel.edu
authors.forename: Aimee K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Hildenbrand
authors.forename: Brian P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Daly
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Nicholls
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Brooks-Holliday
authors.forename: Jacqueline D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Kloss
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012574:Schools / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012737:Sex Factors; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D014754:Violence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D054041:Weapons / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*