0951 Stress Mediates the Relationship Between Discrimination and Sleep in Middle Eastern and North African Americans

Abstract Introduction Discrimination is clearly associated with a number of poor health outcomes and emerging research demonstrates the possibility of a similarly negative relationship with sleep. Stress is posited as a mediator of the discrimination-sleep link, but this has not been explored among Middle Eastern and North African Americans (MENA). The current study explores the mediating role of stress in the relationship between discrimination and two sleep outcomes (sleep-related impairment and sleep disturbance) among MENA. Methods This sample included 126 participants who completed online Qualtrics surveys through Prolific. Participants completed self-report measures of discrimination (Brief PEDQ-CV; Brondolo et al., 2005), stress (Perceived Stress Scale; Cohen et al., 1983) and sleep. The latter was measured using the well-validated PROMIS short form sleep-related impairment and sleep disturbance scales (Yu et al., 2012). Process Macro Model 4 (Hayes, 2012) was run to examine the mediating role of stress on discrimination and sleep outcomes. Generational status and sexual orientation were used as covariates, as they were significantly correlated to focal variables. Results Discrimination predicted stress (b =2.61, SE = 0.75, p < .01). Stress significantly both sleep-related impairment (b =0.67, SE = .08, p < .001) and sleep disturbance (b =0.55, SE = 0.10, p < .001). There was no direct effect of discrimination predicting sleep-related impairment (b =1.14, SE = 0.70, p =0.11) or sleep disturbance (b =0.98, SE = 0.85, p =0.25). However, there was a significant indirect effect of discrimination predicting sleep disturbance (b = 1.44; CI: 0.63-2.38) and sleep-related impairment (b = 1.75; CI: of 0.83-2.83) through stress as indicated by non-zero confidence intervals. These results indicate a full mediation effect of stress between discrimination and sleep-related impairment and discrimination and sleep disturbance. Conclusion Discrimination in MENA is associated with poor sleep through increased stress. These findings have implications for research and treatment in MENA. Immediate and short-term interventions for the effects of discrimination may include improving stress management to promote better sleep. Future research should continue to explore how to reduce discrimination and reduce its effects to promote sleep and overall health. Support (if any)