Sleep quality, sleep-related experiences, and dissociation in adult survivors of childhood trauma

Abstract

Objectives Exposure to traumatic stress in childhood increases the risk of sleep disturbances. Preliminary evidence suggests that the relationship between childhood trauma and sleep may depend on trauma chronicity. Additionally, little is known about the relationship between sleep and dissociation, a common symptom in post-traumatic stress disorder. This study examined sleep quality, sleep-related experiences, and dissociation in survivors of childhood trauma with different trauma chronicity.

Method Nine-hundred-and-fourteen community-dwelling adults completed an online survey. They were divided into three groups: no childhood trauma, short-term childhood trauma, and chronic childhood trauma.

Results We found that survivors of chronic childhood trauma had poorer sleep quality than survivors of short-term childhood trauma and individuals without a history of childhood trauma, controlling for age, number of trauma types experienced, psychological distress, and PTSD symptoms. The relationship between dissociation and sleep quality was moderated by trauma chronicity such that dissociation was associated with better sleep quality only in the chronic trauma group. Dissociation was positively associated with sleep-related experiences regardless of trauma exposure and trauma chronicity.

Conclusion Our findings highlighted the differential impact of acute and chronic traumatic stress on sleep, and suggested that the relationship between dissociation and sleep could depend on trauma chronicity.