Adverse childhood experiences and Chinese young adults' sleep quality: Moderation of resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia

Yue Guan; Lixian Cui

doi:10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2022.12.003

Adverse childhood experiences and Chinese young adults' sleep quality: Moderation of resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia

Int J Psychophysiol. 2023 Feb:184:12-19. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2022.12.003. Epub 2022 Dec 12.

Authors

Yue Guan¹, Lixian Cui²

Affiliations

¹ School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, China.
² Division of Arts and Sciences, NYU Shanghai, China. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 36521821
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2022.12.003

Abstract

This study examined the moderating roles of resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) in the relations between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and sleep quality (i.e., sleep efficiency, perceived sleep quality, and daily disturbances) in young adulthood. Chinese young adults (N = 259; M_age = 25.85 years) reported on their adverse childhood experiences retrospectively and current sleep quality. Their electrocardiogram (ECG) and respiration data were recorded while they were seated resting and resting RSA scores were computed. Results indicated that ACEs were associated with poor perceived sleep quality and greater daily disturbances among young adults who showed low resting RSA. The associations were not significant among those who showed high resting RSA. These findings suggest that high resting RSA may serve as a protective factor for young adults' sleep against adverse childhood experiences and these effects were consistent for different biological sex and sexual orientation groups.

Keywords: Adverse childhood experiences; Respiratory sinus arrhythmia; Sleep quality; Young adults.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Adverse Childhood Experiences*
East Asian People
Female
Humans
Male
Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia* / physiology
Retrospective Studies
Sleep Quality
Young Adult