Violent crime, police presence and poor sleep in two low-income urban predominantly Black American neighbourhoods.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To examine violent crime in relation to sleep and explore pathways, including psychological distress, safety perceptions and perceived police presence, that may account for associations.

Methods

In 2018, 515 predominantly Black American (94%) adults (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA) provided survey data: actigraphy-assessed sleep duration and wakefulness after sleep onset (WASO). We estimated pathways from violent crime (2016-2018) to sleep through psychological distress, perceptions of safety and perceived adequacy of police presence.

Results

WASO was most strongly associated with violent crimes that were within 1/10 mile of the participant's home and within the month preceding the interview. Violent crimes were associated with lower perceived safety (β=-0.13

SUBMITTER: Richardson AS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8152929 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature