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Maren-Jo Kater,1 Anika Werner,1 Angelika Anita Schlarb,2 Arnold Lohaus1 1Faculty of Psychology and Sports Science, Department of Developmental Psychology and Developmental Psychopathology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, North Rhine Westphalia, Germany; 2Faculty of Psychology and Sports Science Clinical, Department of Psychology and Psychotherapy of Children and Adolescents, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, North Rhine Westphalia, GermanyCorrespondence: Maren-Jo Kater, Bielefeld University, Faculty of Psychology and Sports Science, Developmental Psychology and Developmental Psychopathology, P.O. Box 10 01 31, Bielefeld, 33501, Germany, Tel +49 0521 - 106 4461, Email maren-jo.kater@uni-bielefeld.dePurpose: The individual vulnerability for stress-related sleep difficulties (eg, sleep reactivity) is known as a predisposing factor of insomnia in adults, yet relatively little is known about sleep reactivity in adolescence. The study goal is to determine factors related to sleep reactivity and to investigate whether sleep reactivity and related factors predict current and new incidents of insomnia in adolescents.Patients and Methods: At baseline, 11-to-17-year-olds (N = 185, Mage = 14.3 years, SD = 1.8, 54% female) answered an age-appropriate version of the Ford Insomnia Response to Stress Test, questionnaires about sleep, stress, psychological symptoms, and resources, filled out a sleep diary and used actigraphy. Insomnia diagnoses according to ISCD-3 criteria were assessed at baseline, after 9 months and after one and a half years.Results: Adolescents with high compared to low sleep reactivity had increased pre-sleep arousal, negative sleep-related cognitions, pre-sleep mobile phone use, stress experience, stress vulnerability, internalizing and externalizing symptoms, less social resources, and a later midpoint of bedtime. High sleep reactivity increased the likelihood for currently having insomnia, but not for the development of insomnia at subsequent assessments.Conclusion: The findings suggest that high sleep reactivity is related to poor sleep health and mental health but cast doubt on sleep reactivity as a pivotal predisposing factor for the development of insomnia in adolescence.Keywords: sleep vulnerability, sleep disorder, mental health, stress, resources, youth

Objective The existing literature has focused little on the health-promoting role of resources for sleep. Mainly risk factors have been highlighted regarding mental health in general. Moreover, for the vulnerable age group of adolescents, resources and their relation to sleep have hardly been explored. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the predictive role of personal/social resources for the likelihood of having chronic sleep problems in adolescents. Methods and measures A sample of n = 131 adolescents (M = 14.31 years, SD = 1.84) completed the Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children and the Questionnaire to Assess Resources for Children and Adolescents at two measurement points about 8 months apart. Results Binomial logistic regressions controlling for age and sex revealed that higher levels of personal and social resources were associated with a lower likelihood of having chronic sleep problems. Especially optimism and school integration were associated with not experiencing chronic sleep problems. Conclusion For the first time, this study highlighted multiple resources and their health-promoting role in adolescent sleep. Both personal and social resources seem to be relevant for preventing adolescents from chronic sleep problems. Prevention and intervention programs for sleep disorders in teenagers should especially promote optimism and school integration.

Introduction: Adolescence is characterized as a time of increased stress experiences and sleep disorders. Previous studies showed that both difficulties are linked to mental health. However, these findings are mostly based on subjective methods. Therefore, in this study, we investigate if the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis (HPA) level and sleep disturbances are associated with mental health problems. Method: 175 adolescents (M = 14.3 years, SD = 1.8, 55% female) participated in the Trier Social Stress Test, where the HPA activity was captured by the salivary cortisol level at six time points. The area under the curve with respect to the ground (AUC-g) was calculated, indicating the overall cortisol response during the experimental situ- ation. Additionally, the subjective stress level (Adolescent Stress Questionnaire), sleep disturbances (Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children), and psychological difficulties (DISYPS-III Screening) were assessed by questionnaires in the self-report. Two multiple hierarchical regressions tested if (a) the cortisol level and (b) the perceived stress level along with sleep disturbances predict mental health problems, while the models were adjusted for age and gender. Results: The results showed that both, the cortisol level as well as the subjective stress level, significantly predicted mental health problems. Sleep disturbances were also an independent significant predictor besides the stress components. Conclusion: Adolescents experiencing increased stress levels, indi- cated by a high HPA activity and subjective stress levels, are at higher risk for having mental health problems. High psychological stress levels and poor sleep are thereby independent risk factors. This emphasizes the need to address coping-skills, relaxation, and sleep improving cognitive and behavior techniques in interventions for mental health in this age group