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Application of the sleep disturbance scale for children (SDSC) in preschool age
Domenico M Romeo1, Oliviero Bruni, Claudia Brogna
1Paediatric Neurology Unit, Catholic University, Rome, Italy.
Insights
The Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children (SDSC) is reliable for preschool children, showing good internal consistency. Its factorial structure differs from older children, but the total score cutoff remains similar for assessing sleep disorders.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Sleep Medicine
- Psychometrics
- Child Psychology
Background:
- The Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children (SDSC) was initially validated for children aged 6-16 years.
- It assesses sleep disorders over the preceding six months.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the psychometric properties of the SDSC in Italian preschool children.
- To determine the scale's reliability and validity in a younger age group.
Main Methods:
- The SDSC questionnaire was administered to primary caregivers of children recruited through nurseries.
- Reliability analyses (internal consistency, item-total correlation) and factor analysis were conducted.
Main Results:
- Data from 601 healthy preschool children (ages 3-6 years) were collected over 12 months.
- The SDSC demonstrated good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.83).
- Factor analysis identified six factors: Parasomnias, Sleep Initiation/Maintenance Difficulties, Sleep-Disordered Breathing, Excessive Somnolence, Sleep Hyperhydrosis, and Non-Restorative Sleep.
Conclusions:
- The SDSC is a suitable tool for evaluating sleep disturbances in preschool-aged children.
- A distinct factorial structure was observed compared to older children, likely due to age-related differences in sleep disturbance prevalence.
- Similar total SDSC score cutoffs can be used across age groups.
Background:
The Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children (SDSC) was originally validated on a sample of healthy children aged 6-16 years, investigating the occurrence of sleep disorders during the previous 6 months.
Aims:
The aim of this new study was to assess the psychometric properties of the SDSC in an Italian population of preschool children.
Methods:
The SDSC was distributed to the primary caregivers of children recruited via nurseries. Letters describing the study design and requesting the co-operation of the caregivers (parents) and co-signed by the investigators and by the head teacher were distributed with the questionnaire and collected by the teachers. Reliability analysis for evaluating internal consistency and item-total correlation coefficients, and factor analysis were performed.
Results:
During a 12-months study period, 601 questionnaires from healthy preschool age children (range 3-6 years) were collected. SDSC in preschool children showed a good level of internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha: 0.83) and six factors were derived from the factor analysis by using the principal component method of extraction and rotated with the varimax method: Parasomnias, Difficulty in initiating and maintaining sleep, Sleep disordered breathing, Disorders of excessive somnolence, Sleep hyperhydrosis and Non-restorative Sleep.
Conclusions:
The statistical analysis, the internal consistency and the factor analysis support the use of SDSC as an evaluation tool even at preschool age. A different factorial structure from the original SDSC was found due to a different prevalence of the sleep disturbances in younger children, but with similar cut-off total SDSC score.
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