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Attentional Control Accounts for the Association Between Anxiety Sensitivity and Sleep Efficiency in Clinic-Referred Youth

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Abstract

Youth with anxiety disorders report difficulty falling asleep and returning to sleep after sleep onset (i.e., poor sleep efficiency). Anxiety sensitivity, the excessive attention to physical symptoms of anxiety and their threatening interpretations, has been linked to poor sleep efficiency. We tested a conceptual model wherein attentional control, attentional focusing and attentional shifting would account for the relationship between anxiety sensitivity and poor sleep efficiency. 255 youths (6–17 years old, 78% Hispanic/Latino) who presented to a university-based research clinic completed measures on anxiety sensitivity, sleep, and attentional control. Poorer sleep efficiency was significantly correlated with higher anxiety sensitivity and lower attentional control, attentional focusing, and attentional shifting. Higher anxiety sensitivity was significantly correlated with lower attentional control and attentional focusing. Attentional control and attentional focusing, not attentional shifting, accounted for the relationship between anxiety sensitivity and poor sleep efficiency. These findings identify attentional control and attentional focusing as variables that may explain the association between anxiety sensitivity and sleep efficiency in youth.

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Notes

  1. As a complement to joint significance tests, we also decomposed the total effects of attentional control and its components into direct and indirect effects using SPSS PROCESS Macro. Conclusions remained the same as in the joint significance tests, and indicated significant indirect effects for total attentional control and attentional focusing, and a nonsignificant indirect effect for attentional shifting.

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Institute of Drug Abuse (Grant number T32DA043449) awarded to Guadalupe C. Patriarca.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Center for Children and Families, Florida International University, AHC 1 Room 140, 11200 SW 8th Street, Miami, FL, 33199, USA

    Guadalupe C. Patriarca, Yasmin Rey, Carlos E. Yeguez, Dana L. McMakin & Jeremy W. Pettit

  2. Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA

    Victor Buitron

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  1. Guadalupe C. Patriarca
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  2. Yasmin Rey
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  3. Carlos E. Yeguez
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  4. Victor Buitron
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  5. Dana L. McMakin
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Contributions

GCP played lead role in formal analysis, writing of the original draft, and equal role in conceptualization. YR played lead role in data collection, project administration, methodology, and supportive role in formal analysis. CEY and VB played supporting role in conceptualization and writing. DLMcM played supporting role in conceptualization and writing. JWP played lead role in supervision, supporting role in investigation and methodology, and equal role in conceptualization, project administration, and writing of the original draft. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Jeremy W. Pettit.

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Conflict of Interest

Jeremy W. Pettit receives royalties from New Harbinger and American Psychological Association. No other authors have competing financial or personal interests to disclose.

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This study was conducted as approved by the Florida International University Social and Behavioral Institutional Review Board and was performed in accordance with the ethical standards as laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments. All participants provided consent to participate in research and for deidentified findings to be disseminated to the scientific community.

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Patriarca, G.C., Rey, Y., Yeguez, C.E. et al. Attentional Control Accounts for the Association Between Anxiety Sensitivity and Sleep Efficiency in Clinic-Referred Youth. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-023-01631-9

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