Abstract
Introduction
Although caregiving is associated with shorter sleep durations and worse sleep quality, particularly among employed individuals, these studies have mostly examined household (i.e., child, adult) and domestic caregiving among majority non-Latinx White samples. Sending remittances, a form of transnational caregiving whereby financial support is provided to relatives in one’s country of origin, is associated with positive mental health among Latinxs, yet its association with sleep remains unexamined. We examined the association of household and transnational caregiving with sleep duration and quality, and explored the moderating effects of employment status on these relationships.
Methods
Using cross-sectional data of healthy Latinx adults in New York City (N=188), we conducted separate age and gender-adjusted linear regressions or logistic regressions to examine the association of caregiving and sleep duration, and poor sleep quality, respectively. Sleep duration (continuous) and sleep quality (fairly/very poor) were measured using two items from the PSQI. Household caregiving was defined as caregiving for children or adults in the household. Transnational caregiving was operationalized as sending remittances. Moderation was tested using employment status*caregiving cross-products in adjusted models.
Results
Participants were Mage=37.61(SD=14.07), 71.3% employed, 66.5% female, and 59.6% immigrants. Overall, 14.9% were household caregivers and 28.72% sent remittances. Household caregiving was not significantly associated with sleep duration or quality. Those who sent remittances reported on average sleeping 27.63 minutes less than non-remitters (b=-27.63,SE=13.93,p<0.05). Sending remittances was associated with 2.30 increased odds of reporting poor sleep quality (OR:2.30; 95%CI:1.03-5.14.) Employment status was a significant moderator (p<0.05). Among those who were employed, sending remittances was associated with 3 times higher odds of poor sleep quality (OR:3.00;95%CI:1.46-10.59) and 48.94 fewer minutes of sleep duration than non-remitters (b=-48.94,SE=15.72,p<0.05). These relationships were not observed among unemployed Latinxs.
Conclusion
Transnational caregivers were more likely to report shorter sleep duration and poorer sleep quality than their counterparts, and this was only observed among employed vs. unemployed Latinxs. Household caregiving was not significantly associated with sleep. Employed transnational caregivers may have multiple jobs that further constrain opportunities for longer and high-quality sleep. Future studies should examine potential upstream factors (e.g., working conditions) that may limit employed, transnational caregivers’ ability to obtain adequate sleep.
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