Adolescent Sleep Deprivation and Adult Alcohol Consumption Between Sexual Minorities & Non-Sexual Minorities

Abstract

Adolescence is a significant time for changes in the body and mind that have lifelong impacts on health and behavior. Sexual minorities experience poorer health outcomes than their heterosexual counterparts, including increased risk of substance misuse and poorer sleep quality and duration. This analytic study used data from three waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health). We sought to explore if sleep deprivation during adolescence impacted alcohol consumption in adulthood between sexual minorities and non-sexual minorities and if sexual minority adolescents experienced different sleep quality than heterosexuals.