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The role of dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes in late-life insomnia
Jason Ellis1, Sarah E Hampson, Mark Cropley
1Department of Psychology, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, United Kingdom. j.ellis@surrey.ac.uk
Objectives:
This study examined the role of individual and combined sleep-related dysfunctional beliefs in late-life insomnia.
Methods:
Older adults who responded to an advertisement in a magazine took part in a cross-sectional survey (N=382). Respondents completed self-report measures of dysfunctional beliefs about sleep (Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes to Sleep Scale) as well as measures of their current sleep patterns.
Results:
Overall, people with insomnia (PWI) endorsed more extreme ratings of dysfunctional beliefs than "good sleepers" did. However, some sleep-related dysfunctional beliefs did not discriminate PWIs from good sleepers nor were they related to experiencing a longer duration of insomnia.
Conclusion:
This article demonstrates that not all sleep-related dysfunctional beliefs are related to reporting insomnia and that some are not related to a longer reported duration of insomnia, possibly changing through personal experience. These preliminary results may have implications for tailoring the cognitive aspects of psychoeducational programmes for people with late-life insomnia.
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