Linking childhood adversity and daily hassles to adolescent sleep behaviors: Diurnal cortisol as a mediating pathway.

Abstract

This study sought to examine whether diurnal cortisol served as an intermediary pathway linking childhood adversity and daily hassles to adolescent sleep behaviors (i.e., duration and quality). Data were drawn from 255 Chinese adolescents (32.2% female; Mage = 11.678 years, SD = 0.741, range = 10-14 years). Adolescents filled out a survey on demographics and childhood adversity at T1. One year later (T2), they completed 7-day reports on daily hassles and sleep behaviors and provided saliva samples for 3 consecutive days. Six months later (T3), adolescents completed a follow-up survey on their sleep behaviors. Multilevel structural equation models were conducted to examine the mediating effects of diurnal cortisol on associations between stressors and sleep duration and quality. Specific associations emerged between stressors and adolescent diurnal cortisol: Adolescents who reported greater childhood adversity at T1 exhibited a smaller cortisol awakening response (CAR) at T2; by contrast, on days when adolescents perceived more daily hassles, they exhibited a larger CAR the next day. For links between diurnal cortisol and sleep behaviors, distinct associations were observed for daily (within-person) versus longer term (between-person) effects. Finally, waking cortisol and CAR mediated the links between prior-day daily hassles and next-day sleep duration; the indirect effects of diurnal cortisol were not supported for the links between childhood adversity and sleep behaviors. Observing the temporal, time-lagged mechanism of diurnal cortisol explaining the links between daily stressors and sleep behaviors, this study points to important implications for practices on promoting adolescent sleep health. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).