Problematic technology use and sleep quality in young adulthood: novel insights from a nationally representative twin study

<p><strong>Study Objectives:</strong> Digital technology use is associated with poor sleep quality in adolescence and young adulthood although research findings have been mixed. No studies have addressed the association between the two using a genetically informative twin design wh...

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Main Authors: Madrid-Valero, JJ, Matthews, T, Barclay, NL, Odgers, CL, Moffitt, TE, Caspi, A, Arseneault, L, Gregory, AM
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: Oxford University Press 2023
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author Madrid-Valero, JJ
Matthews, T
Barclay, NL
Odgers, CL
Moffitt, TE
Caspi, A
Arseneault, L
Gregory, AM
author_facet Madrid-Valero, JJ
Matthews, T
Barclay, NL
Odgers, CL
Moffitt, TE
Caspi, A
Arseneault, L
Gregory, AM
author_sort Madrid-Valero, JJ
collection OXFORD
description <p><strong>Study Objectives:</strong> Digital technology use is associated with poor sleep quality in adolescence and young adulthood although research findings have been mixed. No studies have addressed the association between the two using a genetically informative twin design which could extend our understanding of the etiology of this relationship. This study aimed to test: (1) the association between adolescents’ perceived problematic use of digital technology and poor sleep quality, (2) whether the association between problematic use of technology and poor sleep quality remains after controlling for familial factors, and (3) genetic and environmental influences on the association between problematic use of technology and poor sleep quality.</p> <p><strong>Methods:</strong> Participants were 2232 study members (18-year-old twins) of the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study. The sample was 48.9% male, 90% white, and 55.6% monozygotic. We conducted regression and twin difference analyses and fitted twin models.</p> <p><strong>Results:</strong> Twin differences for problematic use of technology were associated with differences for poor sleep quality in the whole sample (<i>p</i> < 0.001; <i>B</i> = 0.15) and also when we limited the analyses to identical twins only (<i>p</i> < 0.001; <i>B</i> = 0.21). We observed a substantial genetic correlation between problematic use of technology and sleep quality (rA = 0.31), whereas the environmental correlation was lower (rE = 0.16).</p> <p><strong>Conclusions:</strong> Adolescent reported problematic use of digital technology is associated with poor sleep quality—even after controlling for familial factors including genetic confounds. Our results suggest that the association between adolescents’ sleep and problematic digital technology use is not accounted for by shared genetic liability or familial factors but could reflect a causal association. This robust association needs to be examined in future research designed to test causal associations.</p>
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spelling oxford-uuid:7a794eb7-a6e5-4fd8-8cee-e9265f8895752024-05-03T12:56:44ZProblematic technology use and sleep quality in young adulthood: novel insights from a nationally representative twin studyJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:7a794eb7-a6e5-4fd8-8cee-e9265f889575EnglishSymplectic ElementsOxford University Press2023Madrid-Valero, JJMatthews, TBarclay, NLOdgers, CLMoffitt, TECaspi, AArseneault, LGregory, AM<p><strong>Study Objectives:</strong> Digital technology use is associated with poor sleep quality in adolescence and young adulthood although research findings have been mixed. No studies have addressed the association between the two using a genetically informative twin design which could extend our understanding of the etiology of this relationship. This study aimed to test: (1) the association between adolescents’ perceived problematic use of digital technology and poor sleep quality, (2) whether the association between problematic use of technology and poor sleep quality remains after controlling for familial factors, and (3) genetic and environmental influences on the association between problematic use of technology and poor sleep quality.</p> <p><strong>Methods:</strong> Participants were 2232 study members (18-year-old twins) of the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study. The sample was 48.9% male, 90% white, and 55.6% monozygotic. We conducted regression and twin difference analyses and fitted twin models.</p> <p><strong>Results:</strong> Twin differences for problematic use of technology were associated with differences for poor sleep quality in the whole sample (<i>p</i> < 0.001; <i>B</i> = 0.15) and also when we limited the analyses to identical twins only (<i>p</i> < 0.001; <i>B</i> = 0.21). We observed a substantial genetic correlation between problematic use of technology and sleep quality (rA = 0.31), whereas the environmental correlation was lower (rE = 0.16).</p> <p><strong>Conclusions:</strong> Adolescent reported problematic use of digital technology is associated with poor sleep quality—even after controlling for familial factors including genetic confounds. Our results suggest that the association between adolescents’ sleep and problematic digital technology use is not accounted for by shared genetic liability or familial factors but could reflect a causal association. This robust association needs to be examined in future research designed to test causal associations.</p>
spellingShingle Madrid-Valero, JJ
Matthews, T
Barclay, NL
Odgers, CL
Moffitt, TE
Caspi, A
Arseneault, L
Gregory, AM
Problematic technology use and sleep quality in young adulthood: novel insights from a nationally representative twin study
title Problematic technology use and sleep quality in young adulthood: novel insights from a nationally representative twin study
title_full Problematic technology use and sleep quality in young adulthood: novel insights from a nationally representative twin study
title_fullStr Problematic technology use and sleep quality in young adulthood: novel insights from a nationally representative twin study
title_full_unstemmed Problematic technology use and sleep quality in young adulthood: novel insights from a nationally representative twin study
title_short Problematic technology use and sleep quality in young adulthood: novel insights from a nationally representative twin study
title_sort problematic technology use and sleep quality in young adulthood novel insights from a nationally representative twin study
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