Sleep difficulties among sexual minority adults: Associations with family relationship problems.

Despite the importance of sleep for physical and mental health, little is known about the role of sexual orientation in sleep. There are some indications that sleep difficulties may be more common among members of sexual minorities, but data are sparse and not entirely consistent. We studied adult sleep problems as a function of sexual orientation, gender, and quality of relationships with parents. Participants in a large national sample of adults in the United States reported on their sexual orientation, gender, sleep problems, stress, and relationship quality with parents. Sexual minority participants reported more sleep difficulties than did heterosexual participants, and women reported more sleep difficulties than men. For women, 32% of the effect of sexual orientation on sleep problems was mediated by difficulties in relationships with parents and by associations of family relationship quality with stress; for men, 27% of the variance was mediated by these variables. Sleep problems may be more common among sexual minorities than among heterosexual adults, and difficulties in relationships with parents may underlie some of the differences. Further research on causes and consequences of sleep problems among lesbian, gay, and bisexual people is warranted.