Relationships Between Childhood Bullying/Domestic Violence Experience and Insomnia among Employees in Japan

Objective: Traumatic childhood experiences such as domestic violence and bullying have been reported to be associated with insomnia in adulthood. However, little evidence is available for the long-term effects of childhood adversity on workers’ insomnia worldwide. Our objective was to examine whether childhood experiences of bullying and domestic violence are associated with insomnia in workers in adulthood. Methods: We used survey data from a cross-sectional study of the Tsukuba Science City Network in Tsukuba City, Japan. Workers aged 20 to 65 years (4509 men and 2666 women) were targeted. Binomial logistic regression analysis was performed with the Athens Insomnia Scale as the objective variable. Results: Binomial logistic regression analysis showed that childhood bullying and domestic violence experience of childhood bullying and domestic violence were associated with insomnia. As for the experience of domestic violence, the higher the time of experience, the higher the odds ratio of insomnia. Conclusions: It may be useful to focus on childhood traumatic experiences regarding insomnia in workers. In the future, objective sleep time and sleep efficiency should be evaluated using an activity meter and other methods to verify the effects of bullying and domestic violence experiences.