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Discrimination and Sleep: The Protective Role of School Belonging

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Youth & Society

Published online on

Abstract

Ethnic minority adolescents experience certain sleep problems, yet factors that affect their sleep are poorly understood. This study examined the association between ethnic discrimination and sleep during adolescence and the extent to which perceived stress mediated these associations. This study also examined whether school belonging can protect adolescents from discrimination’s negative association with sleep. Latino (n = 247) and Asian American (n = 113) adolescents (Mage=17.18, SD = .75; 57% female) completed self-reports of overt and subtle discrimination, sleep quality, sleep hours, perceived stress, and school belonging. Both overt and subtle discrimination were associated with worse sleep quality. Only subtle discrimination was associated with getting less sleep. The associations between discrimination and sleep hold even after controlling for perceived stress. School belonging buffered the negative effect of overt discrimination on sleep. Findings suggest that discrimination is a unique type of vigilance that affects sleep; however, school belonging may be a positive resource for adolescents.