081 Implicit and Explicit Stigma Towards Evening Types

Abstract Introduction Negative explicit and implicit stigma surrounding mental and physical health conditions are endorsed by people with and without these conditions. Stigma can lead to adverse consequences such as higher levels of distress and isolation. People with insomnia report internalized stigma associated with their insomnia and often delay treatment as a result. Although anecdotal reports of a similar stigma exist for delayed chronotypes, particularly among emerging adults, this effect has not been empirically examined. The present study aims to examine explicit and implicit attitudes about chronotype in a sample of emerging adults. Methods Participants were undergraduates (M age=19.9 [SD=1.5], 83.7% female). Demographic, sleep, and circadian questionnaires, including the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire to assess chronotype, were collected. Explicit stigma was measured by rating morning and evening types from 0–100 on eight pairs of opposing characteristics (e.g., lazy/motivated) and means were compared with paired samples t-tests using correction for multiple comparisons. Implicit stigma was measured using the Implicit Association Test with attributes associated with “good” and “bad” and targets of “night owl” or “early bird” and the mean score was compared to benchmarks. Regression was conducted to determine whether chronotype predicted implicit or explicit attitudes. Results Analyses of explicit attitudes revealed evening types were rated as possessing significantly more of the following characteristics: Lazy (Cohen’s d=0.71), Unhealthy (1.22), Undisciplined (1.19), Immature (0.64), Creative (0.59), and Young (1.20), adjusted ps<.01. Analysis of implicit attitudes revealed a d score of 0.57 (SD=0.47), which indicates a moderate implicit bias of pairing “night owl” with “bad” and “early bird” with “good.” Chronotype was not significantly associated with implicit or explicit attitudes, F(1,47)=0.04, p=.849. Conclusion Overall, greater negative explicit and implicit stigma were found for eveningness tendency compared to morningness tendency. Creativity and youthfulness were also rated higher for eveningness. Individual chronotype did not predict implicit or explicit attitudes, suggesting a potential broad societal bias rather than a specific internalized bias. As explicit and implicit stigma often predict discriminatory behavior and lead to negative consequences for the target group, future studies should examine how negative stigma may impact evening types and the behavioral and psychological consequences of stigma. Support (if any):