Related Experiment Videos
Sleep and psychiatric symptoms in school-age children
E T Aronen1, E J Paavonen, M Fjällberg
1Department of Child Psychiatry, Hospital for Children and Adolescents, University of Helsinki, Finland. eeva.aronen@helsinki.fi
Insights
Children's sleep quantity is linked to behavioral issues reported by teachers, but not parents. Objective sleep measures are crucial for identifying sleep deficiencies underlying behavioral problems.
Area of Science:
- Child Psychology
- Sleep Medicine
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Sleep disturbances are common in children and can impact behavior.
- Parent and teacher reports are primary methods for assessing child psychiatric symptoms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between objective sleep measures (quantity and quality) and psychiatric symptoms in children.
- To compare parent-reported versus teacher-reported psychiatric symptoms in relation to sleep.
Main Methods:
- Objective sleep data collected using actigraphy for 72 hours in 49 children (7-12 years old).
- Parent-completed Child Behavior Checklists and teacher-completed Teacher's Report Forms were used.
Main Results:
- Objective sleep quantity correlated with teacher-reported total psychiatric symptoms.
- Low true sleep time was associated with externalizing behaviors (aggression, attention problems) reported by teachers.
- Sleep parameters showed limited association with parent-reported symptoms, except for delayed sleep latency and aggression.
Conclusions:
- Objectively measured sleep quantity in school-aged children is associated with teacher-reported psychiatric symptoms.
- Parents may underestimate sleep problems, as behavioral issues are more apparent at school.
- Objective sleep assessment is vital for diagnosing behavioral problems potentially linked to inadequate sleep.
Objective:
To assess associations between the quantity and quality of children's sleep and parent- and teacher-reported psychiatric symptoms.
Method:
Forty-nine physically healthy 7- to 12-year-old children from normal classes participated. They were monitored for 72 consecutive hours with belt-worn activity monitors (actigraphs) to obtain objective data on their daytime and nighttime activity and sleep. In addition, Child Behavior Checklists and Teacher's Report Forms were filled out by the parents and teachers, respectively.
Results:
Quantity of sleep was significantly associated with total symptom score on the Teacher's Report Form. The highest associations were found between low true sleep time and teacher-reported externalizing symptoms such as aggressive and delinquent behavior and attention and social problems. Sleep parameters were not associated with parent-reported psychiatric symptoms, except for the association found between delayed sleep latency and aggressive, delinquent behavior.
Conclusions:
The objectively measured amount of school-age children's sleep was associated with teacher-reported psychiatric symptoms. Parents may be unaware of their child's sleep deficiencies as the behavioral problems may be more evident at school than at home. Sensitive and objective measurements are needed to rule out the possibility of inadequate sleep underlying behavioral problems.