Social-Ecological Risk and Protective Factors for Insufficient Sleep in Adolescents: A Nationally Representative Investigation

Objective: To explore the impact of risk and protective factors on insufficient sleep amongadolescents, and to investigate whether these associations vary by race/ethnicity.Methods: This study utilized data from the 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System(YRBSS), a nationally representative sample of high school students (N = 8,289).Race/ethnicity and a sum of 6 community risk factors and 4 interpersonal protectivefactors were used to predict odds of insufficient sleep (< 7 hours/night).Results: Black and multiracial non-Hispanic adolescents had a 32-45% increase in odds ofreporting insufficient sleep compared to White adolescents. Endorsing fewerinterpersonal protective factors and more community risk factors were independentlyassociated with higher odds of insufficient sleep. Only one significant interaction withprotective factors and race/ethnicity emerged for multiracial non-Hispanic (vs. White)adolescents.Conclusions: Risk and protective factors each play a unique role in predicting sleep duration amongracially/ethnically diverse adolescents.Policy Implications: To improve sleep health outcomes among adolescent populations, it is crucial toaddress structural barriers, improve community safety, and strengthen protectivefactors like parental involvement and a sense of belonging.