Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Sleep Problems Across Development: A Pathway to Adolescent Risk Taking Through Working Memory

  • Empirical Research
  • Published:
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Problematic sleep can be detrimental to the development of important cognitive functions, such as working memory, and may have the potential for negative behavioral consequences, such as risk-taking. In this way, sleep problems may be particularly harmful for youth—whose cognitive abilities are still developing and who are more susceptible to risky behavior. Using data from a large, national, longitudinal study, continuity and change in sleep problems were examined from 2 to 15 years of age and associated with deficits in working memory at age 15 and risk taking behaviors at age 18. Participants (N = 1,364 children; 48.3 % female) were assessed for sleep problems (parent-report), working memory (behavioral task), and risk taking behavior (youth self-report). The sample was predominantly White (80.4 %); additional races represented in the sample included Black/African American (12.9 %), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.6 %), American Indian/Eskimo/Aleut (.4 %), and Other (4.7 %). The findings suggest that sleep problems are likely to cascade across development, with sleep problems demonstrating continuity from infancy to early childhood, early childhood to middle childhood, and middle childhood to adolescence. Although sleep problems in infancy, early childhood, and middle childhood were not directly related to adolescent working memory, sleep problems during adolescence were associated with poorer adolescent working memory. In turn, these deficits in working memory were related to greater risk taking in late adolescence. In summary, the present results suggest that sleep problems in earlier periods are indicative of risk for sleep problems later in development, but that sleep problems in adolescence contribute uniquely to deficits in working memory that, in turn, lead to risky behavior during late adolescence.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Achenbach, T. M. (1991). Manual for the child behavior checklist/4–18 and profile. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry.

    Google Scholar 

  • Achenbach, T. M. (1992). Manual for the child behavior checklist/2–3 and 1992 profile. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont Department of Psychiatry.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arber, S., Bote, M., & Meadows, R. (2009). Gender and socio-economic patterning of self-reported sleep problems in Britain. Social Science and Medicine, 68(2), 281–289. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.00993.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baddeley, A. (2010). Working memory: Theories, models, and controversies. Annual Review of Psychology, 63, 1–29. doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-120710-100422.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bell, M. A., Wolfe, C. D., & Adkins, D. R. (2007). Frontal lobe development during infancy and childhood: Contributions of brain electrical activity, temperament, and language to individual differences in working memory and inhibition. In D. Coch, G. Dawson, & K. W. Fischer (Eds.), Human behavior, learning, and the developing brain: Typical development (pp. 247–276). New York: Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bernier, A., Carlson, S. M., Bordeleau, S., & Carrier, J. (2010). Relations between physiological and cognitive regulatory systems: Infant sleep regulation and subsequent executive functioning. Child Development, 81(6), 1739–1752. doi:10.1111/j.146708624.2010.01507.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Best, J. R., Miller, P. H., & Jones, L. L. (2009). Executive functions after age 5: Changes and correlates. Developmental Review, 29, 180–200. doi:10.1016/j.dr.2009.05.002.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bobova, L., Finn, P. R., Rickert, M. E., & Lucas, J. (2009). Disinhibitory psychopathology and delay discounting in alcohol dependence: Personality and cognitive correlates. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 17(1), 51–61. doi:10.1037/a0014503.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Buckholt, J. A., El-Shiekh, M., & Keller, P. (2007). Children’s sleep and cognitive functioning: Race and socioeconomic status as moderators of effects. Child Development, 71(1), 213–231. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.00993.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carskadon, M. A. (2011). Sleep in adolescents: The perfect storm. Pediatric Clinics of North America, 58(3), 637–647. doi:10.1016/j.pcl.2011.03.003.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Carskadon, M. A., Harvey, K., Duke, P., Anders, T. F., Litt, I. F., & Dement, W. C. (2002). Pubertal changes in daytime sleepiness. Journal of Sleep and Sleep Disorders Research, 25(6), 525–605.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carskadon, M. A., Wolfson, A. R., Acebo, C., Tzischinsky, O., & Seifer, R. (1998). Adolescent sleep patterns, circadian timing, and sleepiness at a transition to early school days. Sleep, 21(8), 871–881.

  • Casey, B. J., Jones, R. M., & Somerville, L. H. (2011). Braking and accelerating of the adolescent brain. Journal for Research on Adolescence, 21(1), 21–33. doi:10.1111/j.1532-7795.2010.00712.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Catrett, C. D., & Gaultney, J. F. (2009). Possible insomnia predicts some risky behaviors amont adolescents when controlling for depressive symptoms. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 170, 287–309. doi:10.1080/00221320903218331.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chee, M. W. L., & Choo, W. C. (2004). Functional imaging of working memory after 24 hr of total sleep deprivation. The Journal of Neuroscience, 24(19), 4560–4567. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0007-04.2004.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Choo, W.-C., Lee, W.-W., Venkatraman, V., Sheu, F.-W., & Chee, M. W. L. (2005). Dissociation of cortical regions modulated by both working memory load and sleep deprivation and by sleep deprivation alone. Neuroimage, 25, 579–587. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2004.11.029.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Clark, S. L., & Muthén, B. (2009). Relating latent class analysis results to variables not include in the analysis. Retrieved from Statmodel2.com.

  • Clinkinbeard, S. S., Simi, P., Evans, M. K., & Anderson, A. L. (2011). Sleep and delinquency: Does the amount of sleep matter? Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 40, 916–930. doi:10.1007/s10964-010-9594-6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Colrain, I. M., & Baker, F. C. (2011). Changes in sleep as a function of adolescent development. Neuropsychology Review, 21, 5–21. doi:10.1007/s11065-010-9155-5.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Conger, R. D., & Elder, G. H, Jr. (1994). Families in troubled times: Adapting to change in rural America. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cortina, J. M. (1993). What is coefficient alpha? An examination of theory and applications. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78(1), 98–104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coulombe, J. A., Reid, G. J., Boyle, M. H., & Racine, Y. (2010). Concurrent associations among sleep problems, indicators of inadequate sleep, psychopathology, and shared risk factors in a population-based sample of healthy Ontario children. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 35(7), 790–799. doi:10.1093.jpepsy/jsp097.

  • Dahl, R. E., & Lewin, D. S. (2002). Pathways to adolescent health: Sleep regulation and behavior. Journal of Adolescent Health, 31, 175–184.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Durrence, H. H., & Lichstein, K. L. (2006). The sleep of African-Americans: A comparative review. Behavioral Sleep Medicine, 4, 29–44.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Engle, R. W., Tuholski, S. W., Laughlin, J. E., & Conway, A. R. A. (1999). Working memory, short-term memory and fluid intelligence: A latent variable approach. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 128(3), 309–331. doi:10.1037/0096-3445.128.3.309.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fight Crime: Invest in Kids. (2000). America’s after-school choice: The prime time for juvenile crime, or youth enrichment and achievement. Washington, DC: Fight Crime: Invest in Kids.

  • Friedman, N. P., Corley, R. P., Hewitt, J. K., & Wright, K. P, Jr. (2009). Individual differences in childhood sleep problems predict later cognitive executive control. Sleep, 32(3), 323–333.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gathercole, S. E., Pickering, S. J., Ambridge, B., & Wearing, H. (2004). The structure of WM from 4 to 15 years of age. Developmental Psychology, 40, 177–190. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.40.2.177.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gohar, A., Adams, A., Gertner, E., Sackett-Lundeen, L., Heitz, R., Engle, R., et al. (2009). Working memory capacity is decreased in sleep-deprived internal medicine residents. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 5(3), 191–197.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gradisar, M., Terrill, G., Johnston, A., & Douglas, P. (2008). Adolescent sleep and working memory performance. Sleep and Biological Rhythms, 6, 146–154. doi:10.1111/j.1479-8425.2008.00353.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gregory, A. M., Cousins, J. C., Forbes, E. E., Trubnick, L., Ryan, N. D., Axelson, D. A., et al. (2011). Sleep items in the child behavior checklist: A comparison with sleep diaries, actigraphy, and polysomnography. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 50(5), 499–507. doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2011.02.003.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gregory, A. M., & O’Connor, T. G. (2002). Sleep problems in childhood: A longitudinal study of developmental change and association with behavioral problems. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 41(8), 964–971. doi:10.1097/00004583-200208000-00015.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hagenauer, M. H., Perryman, J. I., Lee, T. M., & Carskadon, M. A. (2009). Adolescent changes in the homeostatic and circadian regulation of sleep. Developmental Neuroscience, 31, 276–284. doi:10.1159/000216538.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Johnston, L. D., O’Malley, P. M., & Bachman, J. G. (2003). Monitoring the Future national survey results on drug use, 1975–2002. Volume I: Secondary school students (NIH Publication No. 03-5375). Bethesda, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse.

  • Kane, M. J., & Engle, R. W. (2002). The role of prefrontal cortex in working memory capacity, executive attention, and general fluid intelligence: An individual-differences perspective. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 9, 637–671. doi:10.3758/BF03196323.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Khurana, A., Romer, D., Betancourt, L. M., Brodsky, N. L., Giannetta, J. M., & Hurt, H. (2012). Early adolescent sexual debut: The mediating role of working memory ability, sensation seeking, and impulsivity. Developmental Psychology, 48(5), 1416–1428. doi:10.1037/a0027491.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McKnight-Eily, L. R., Eaton, D. K., Lowry, R., Croft, J. B., Presley-Cantrell, L., & Perry, G. S. (2011). Relationships between hours of sleep and health-risk behaviors in US adolescent students. Preventive Medicine, 53, 271–273. doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2011.06.020.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Moretti, M. M., Fine, S., Haley, G., & Marriage, K. (1985). Childhood and adolescent depression: Child-report versus parent-report information. Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 24(3), 298–302.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (1998–2010). Mplus user’s guide, 6th ed. Los Angeles, CA: Muthén & Muthén.

  • Muzur, A., Pace-Schott, E. F., & Hobson, J. A. (2002). The prefrontal cortex in sleep. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 6, 475–481.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nyland, K. L., Bellmore, A., Nishina, A., & Graham, S. (2007). Subtypes, severity, and structural stability of peer victimization: What does latent class analysis say? Child Development, 78(6), 1706–1722. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.01097.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Brien, E. M., & Mindell, J. A. (2005). Sleep and risk-taking behavior in adolescents. Behavioral Sleep Medicine, 3(3), 113–133. doi:10.1207/s15402010bsm0303_1.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Owens, J. A. (2005). The ADHD and sleep conundrum: A review. Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 26(4), 312–322.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Patalay, P., Deighton, J., Fonagy, P., Vostanis, P., & Wolpert, M. (2014). Clinical validity of the Me and My School questionnaire: A self-report mental health measure for children and adolescents. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry & Mental Health, 8(17). doi: 10.1186/1753-2000-8-17.

  • Resnick, M. D., Bearman, P. S., Blum, R. W., Bauman, K. E., Harris, K. M., Jones, J., et al. (1997). Protecting adolescents from harm: Findings from the National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health. Journal of the American Medical Association, 278, 823–832. doi:10.1001/jama.1997.03550100049038.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Riley, A. W. (2004). Evidence that children can self-report on their own health. Ambulatory Pediatrics, 4(4), 371–376. doi:10.1367/A03-178R.1.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Romer, D., Betancourt, L. M., Brodsky, N. L., Giannetta, J. M., Yang, W., & Hurt, H. (2011). Prospective study of relations between working memory performance, impulsivity, and risk taking in early adolescence. Developmental Science, 14(5), 1119–1133. doi:10.1111/j.1467-7687.2011.01061.x.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sadeh, A. (1996). Evaluating night wakings in sleep-distrubed infants: A methodological study of parental reports and actigraphy. Sleep, 19(10), 757–762.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Scher, A., & Asher, R. (2004). Is attachment security related to sleep-wake regulation? Mothers’ reports and objective sleep recordings. Infant Behavior & Development, 27, 288–302. doi:10.1016/j.infbeh.2003.12.002.

    Google Scholar 

  • Short, M. A., Gradisar, M., Lack, L. C., Wright, H. R., & Chatburn, A. (2013). Estimating adolescent sleep patterns: Parent reports versus adolescent self-report surveys, sleep diaries, and actigraphy. Nature and Science of Sleep, 5, 23–26. doi:10.2147/NSS.S38369.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sisk, C. L., & Zehr, J. L. (2005). Pubertal hormones organize the adolescent brain and behavior. Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology, 26, 163–174. doi:10.1016/j.yfrne.2005.10.003.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Steenari, M.-R., Vuontela, V., Paavonen, E. J., Carlson, S., Fjällberg, M., & Aronen, E. T. (2003). Working memory and sleep in 6- to 13-year-old school children. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 42(1), 85–92. doi:10.1097/01.CHI.0000024911.60748.D3.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stein, M. A., Mendelsohn, J., Obermeyer, W. H., Amromin, J., & Benca, R. (2001). Sleep and behavior problems in school-aged children. Pediatrics, 107(4), e60.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Steinberg, L. (2008). A social neuroscience perspective on adolescent risk-taking. Developmental Review, 28, 78–106. doi:10.1016/j.dr.2007.08.002.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Steinberg, L. (2010). A dual-systems model of adolescent risk-taking. Developmental Psychobiology, 52(3), 216–224. doi:10.1002/dev.20445.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA]. (2002). 2002 National survey on drug use and health. Rockville, MD: Author, Office of Applied Studies.

    Google Scholar 

  • Telzer, E. H., Fuligni, A. J., Lieberman, M. D., & Galván, A. (2013). The effects of poor quality sleep on brain function and risk taking in adolescence. Neuroimage, 71, 275–283. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.01.025.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • The NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. (2005). Child care and child development: Results from the NICHD study of early child care and youth development. New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thornberry, T. P., & Krohn, M. D. (2000). The self-report method for measuring delinquency and crime. In Criminal justice (Vol. 4, pp. 33–83). Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.

  • Turner, M. L. & Engle, R. W. (1989). Is working memory capacity task dependent? Journal of Memory and Language, 28, 127–154. doi:10.1016/0749-596X(89)90040-5.

  • Whitney, P., Jameson, T., & Hinson, J. M. (2004). Impulsiveness and executive control of working memory. Personality and Individual Differences, 37, 417–428. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2003.09.013.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yungtai, L., Mendell, N. R., & Rubin, D. B. (2001). Testing the number of components in a normal mixture. Biometrika, 88(3), 767–778. doi:10.1093.biomet/88.3.767.

  • Zuckerman, B., Stevenson, J., & Bailey, V. (1987). Sleep problems in early childhood: Continuities, predictive factors, and behavioral correlates. Pediatrics, 80, 664.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The research described herein was supported by a cooperative agreement (U10-HD25420) with the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) for the birth to age 15 data as well as from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation (2006-00365) for the end of high school data collection. This article was the result of a collaboration of the four named authors. The NICHD network of authors merits our appreciation for ensuring that these data were gathered, however, they have no responsibility for how we have analyzed the data, the results we report, and the conclusions we draw.

Author contributions

All authors contributed to development of study ideas, models, and hypotheses. AT conceived of the study, participated in its design and coordination, and drafted the manuscript; KM participated in the design of the study, performed the statistical analysis, and drafted the results section of the manuscript; AL helped to draft the introduction section of the manuscript and offered expert advice on sleep and infancy; EC helped to revise the manuscript and offered expert advice on risk taking and adolescence. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology and Social Behavior, University of California, Irvine, 4201 Social and Behavioral Sciences Gateway, Irvine, CA, 92697-7085, USA

    April Gile Thomas, Angela F. Lukowski & Elizabeth Cauffman

  2. University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Kathryn C. Monahan

Authors
  1. April Gile Thomas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Kathryn C. Monahan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Angela F. Lukowski
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Elizabeth Cauffman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to April Gile Thomas.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Thomas, A.G., Monahan, K.C., Lukowski, A.F. et al. Sleep Problems Across Development: A Pathway to Adolescent Risk Taking Through Working Memory. J Youth Adolescence 44, 447–464 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-014-0179-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-014-0179-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation