Daily Impacts of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms and Sleep on Family Functioning among Asian Indians in the Context of Intimate Partner Violence
The effects of trauma can extend into the everyday interactions through which family relationships are maintained. For individuals who have experienced intimate partner violence (IPV), posttraumatic stress and disrupted sleep may affect not only individual well-being but also communication, emotional availability, and functioning within the family.
In the MRI-funded project Daily Impacts of Posttrauma Distress and Sleep on Family Functioning among Asian Indians in the Context of Intimate Partner Violence, Dr. Ateka A. Contractor and Dr. Danica C. Slavish (University of North Texas) examined how daily fluctuations in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and sleep relate to family functioning among U.S. Asian Indian adults with a history of IPV. The project addresses trauma as both an individual and relational process, asking how changes in psychological and physiological well-being may be reflected in family life from one day to the next.
The study focuses on a population that has received relatively limited attention in IPV and trauma research. Asian Indian adults in the United States may encounter cultural, social, and structural barriers to recognizing IPV, disclosing experiences of violence, or accessing mental health services. The project therefore examines daily relational processes within a specific cultural context while contributing to the development of more culturally responsive approaches to trauma research and care.
Participants first completed an assessment of stressful and traumatic experiences, posttrauma symptoms, sleep health, and family relationships. They then completed brief surveys for seven consecutive days assessing PTSD symptoms, sleep, and family functioning. This daily-diary design allowed the researchers to examine both differences between individuals and fluctuations within the same person across days.
Following data-quality screening, analyses included 90 participants with usable daily data. The sample reported substantial exposure to trauma and related symptoms: approximately 73% met criteria for probable PTSD, more than half reported moderate-to-severe insomnia symptoms, and participants reported an average of more than nine traumatic experiences over their lifetimes.
The daily analyses revealed associations among posttraumatic stress, sleep, and family functioning. On days when participants experienced lower PTSD symptom severity, they also reported better family functioning. Better sleep quality was similarly associated with better family functioning on a day-to-day basis. Other dimensions of sleep—including duration, efficiency, and the occurrence of nightmares—did not show the same associations with family functioning.
These findings suggest that the relationship between sleep and family functioning may depend not simply on how long someone sleeps, but on the perceived quality of that sleep. They also illustrate how processes typically considered at the individual level can extend into relational functioning. A night of better or poorer sleep may influence the conditions under which family interactions occur the following day.
The findings do not establish that improving sleep will necessarily improve family relationships. They do, however, identify sleep quality as a potentially relevant component of the daily processes connecting trauma-related distress with family functioning. Future research can examine these pathways more directly and determine whether interventions addressing PTSD and sleep produce corresponding changes in family relationships.
The research team is also considering how these findings might inform culturally responsive and just-in-time adaptive interventions, in which support can be delivered in response to changing symptoms or circumstances. Such approaches could eventually allow interventions to respond to the daily variability in trauma symptoms and sleep captured by this study rather than relying exclusively on more static assessments.
The project has also supported continued research and dissemination, including a peer-reviewed manuscript and a presentation accepted for the annual meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies. A community advisory board contributed to discussions of study methods, interpretation, and strategies for communicating findings within the Asian Indian community.
By examining trauma, sleep, and family functioning as interconnected daily processes, this project contributes to a relational understanding of the consequences of trauma. Recovery from IPV does not occur solely within the individual; it unfolds within ongoing relationships and everyday interactions. Understanding how psychological distress and sleep impact those interactions may help clarify the conditions that support—or interfere with—family functioning following trauma.