UC Irvine

There are profound consequences when developing youth do not get adequatesleep. In particular, sleep-deprived adolescents may be more likely to engage in offending behavior. While there is a documented association between the number of hours youth sleep and their likelihood of offending, it is unclear how youths’ subjective perceptions of their own sleep contribute to offending. Further, scholars have yet to rigorously examine the relation between sleep problems and offending in young adulthood, a developmental stage in which sleep may play a critical role. Using a sample of 1,216 justice-involved male youth from the Crossroads Study, this study uses longitudinal methods to examine the relation between changes in subjective perceptions of sleep and changes in offending behavior from ages 13 to 24. Results indicate that increases in sleep problems are associated with increases in offending, particularly violent offending, regardless of youth age. Implications for juvenile and young adult justice policies are discussed.