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Sleep quality, duration and behavioral symptoms among 5-6-year-old children

E Juulia Paavonen1, Tarja Porkka-Heiskanen, Anja Riitta Lahikainen

  • 1Child and Adolescent Mental Health, National Institute for Health and Welfare, P.O. Box 30, Lintulahdenkuja 4, 00271 Helsinki, Finland. juulia.paavonen@helsinki.fi

European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
|May 26, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Parent-reported short sleep duration and sleeping difficulties in preschoolers are linked to behavioral issues like inattention and externalizing symptoms. Improving sleep may reduce these behavioral problems in young children.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Sleep Medicine
  • Child Psychology
  • Behavioral Science

Background:

  • Sleep disturbances are common in preschool-aged children.
  • Behavioral symptoms in early childhood can have long-term implications.
  • Understanding the link between sleep and behavior is crucial for early intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between parent-reported sleep duration and difficulties and behavioral symptoms in 5-6-year-old children.
  • To differentiate the impact of sleep duration versus sleep difficulties on various behavioral outcomes.
  • To provide evidence for potential sleep-based interventions for childhood behavioral issues.

Main Methods:

  • Cross-sectional survey of 297 families with 5-6-year-old children.
  • Utilized the Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children to assess sleep parameters.
  • Employed the Child Behavior Checklist and Teacher's Report Form for behavioral symptom assessment.

Main Results:

  • Short sleep duration was associated with inattention, internalizing, and total psychiatric symptoms (parent-reports).
  • Sleeping difficulties showed strong associations with all psychiatric symptom subtypes (parent-reports) and externalizing symptoms (teacher-reports).
  • Both sleep duration and sleep quality were significantly related to children's behavioral symptoms.

Conclusions:

  • Short sleep duration and sleeping difficulties in preschoolers are significantly associated with behavioral symptoms.
  • Findings suggest that interventions targeting sleep may be beneficial for managing childhood behavioral issues.
  • Further intervention studies are warranted to confirm the efficacy of sleep improvement strategies.

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