Peer and Family Effects on Urban, African-American Children's Sleep

描述（由申请人提供）：健康差异是一个主要的公共卫生问题。睡眠数量和质量的差异存在于美国人口的各个部分，在经济上处于不利地位的有色人种中，睡眠质量普遍较差。这种差异至关重要，因为睡眠不足会导致健康状况和认知、情感和社会功能恶化。我们来自俄亥俄州克利夫兰的数据表明，11-12岁是非洲裔美国人和白人儿童在睡眠时间和时间上出现实质性差异的关键时期。根据我们的研究和其他调查，造成这种差异的原因可能涉及社会环境中的一系列因素。为了确定具体的社会因素，我们建议对56名11-12岁的城市非洲裔美国儿童进行一项基于家庭的横断面研究。这项研究将使用活动记录仪和一种新颖的移动电话传感器技术来调查两个社会因素在11-12岁非裔美国儿童睡眠时间和时间中的作用：(1)儿童同伴的影响；(2)父母的影响

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Health disparities are a major public health issue. Disparities in sleep quantity and quality occur among segments of the American population, with poorer sleep generally observed among economically disadvantaged persons of color throughout the life course. Such disparities are critically important because inadequate sleep leads to poorer health and cognitive, emotional, and social functioning. Our data from Cleveland, OH indicate that the age range of 11-12 years is a crucial period when substantial differences in sleep duration and timing emerge between African-American and White children. Based on our research and other investigations, the causes of this disparity likely involve a constellation of factors in the social environment. In order to identify specific social factors responsible, we propose to conduct a home-based, cross-sectional study of 56 urban African American children ages 11-12 years. The study will use actigraphy as well as a novel mobile phone-sensor technology to investigate the role of two social factors in the duration and timing of sleep in 11-12 year old African-American children: (1) the influence of child peers, and (2) the level of family organization/structure as reflected in the presence of sleep-related rules, daily routines, and parenting practices. The study's central hypothesis is that increased peer pressure and decreased level of family organization lead to delayed timing of sleep and decreased sleep duration. Moreover, both factors are hypothesized to influence sleep patterns by affecting family nighttime activity. Scientifically, the study is innovative because it targets early adolescents of disadvantaged African-American families, and involves simultaneous study of peer influence and family organization. Methodologically, the project is innovative because it uses the Wockets Physical Activity Measurement System, a novel mobile phone-sensor technology to collect more accurate, real-time data about nighttime activities and sleep environments, helping pinpoint specific factors and activities influencing sleep patterns. The study's potential impact is high. From a methodological standpoint, demonstrating that adolescents can effectively use the Wockets system supports its use as a tool to identify youth for interventions, collect data for future interventions, and provide tailored biofeedback to adolescents in future interventions to improve adolescent health and functioning. From a public health perspective, identifying social factors that influence sleep is imperative because these factors represent potential targets for interventions to improve sleep, avoid the negative consequences of insufficient, misaligned sleep, and, ultimately, help reduce health disparities in society.