Sleep and Interpersonal Violence: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Sleep disturbance is a significant public health issue that disproportionately affects survivors of interpersonal violence (IPV). This systematic review presents data on the relationship of IPV and sleep. Inclusion criteria for this review were studies that included subjects 18 years of age or older, used an IPV measure and sleep disturbance measure, and were published in a peer-reviewed journal in English. A total of 23 articles met full inclusion criteria and were included in the present review. Studies were largely cross sectional, were conducted in a wide range of clinical and nonclinical samples, and utilized a variety of measures to assess IPV (sexual violence, physical violence, or psychological aggression perpetrated by an intimate partner or sexual or physical violence by any perpetrator in childhood or adulthood) and sleep disturbances (both general sleep disturbance excluding specific sleep disorders and the two specific sleep disorders of insomnia and nightmares). The findings examined the prevalence and association of sleep disturbance in IPV samples from population and community studies, the prevalence and association of sleep disturbance in IPV studies, and the associations between post-traumatic stress disorder and sleep disturbance in IPV samples. All studies identified a relationship between IPV and sleep disturbance. The results of this review provide important information for clinicians, researchers, and policy makers on the prevalence of and relationship between IPV and sleep disturbance.

Keywords: domestic violence; insomnia; interpersonal violence; nightmares; sleep disturbance.