Subjective Sleep Measures in Children: Self-Report.

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Sleep Medicine
• Psychometrics
• Child Health

Background:

• The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) has released guidelines on recommended sleep durations for infants and children.
• Sleep duration is a key component of sleep quality, impacting seven health categories in children.
• Limited data exist for subjective sleep assessment in pediatric populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a mini-review of subjective self-report sleep measures utilized in children.
• To identify reliable and valid tools for assessing children's sleep quality.
• To inform practitioners on the current state of subjective sleep measurement in pediatrics.

Main Methods:

• An independent literature review was conducted by the authors.
• A collaborative discussion followed the individual reviews.
• The review focused on subjective sleep measures used in children.

Main Results:

• Several subjective sleep measures have been used in children, but not all possess established psychometric properties.
• Some tools demonstrate limited reliability or only preliminary psychometric data.
• Accurate subjective sleep measurement is critical for identifying sleep problems and associated health concerns.

Conclusions:

• Reliable and valid self-report sleep measures are essential for accurate diagnosis in children.
• Further research is needed to establish robust psychometric properties for pediatric sleep measures.
• This review serves as a foundational step in identifying the most dependable subjective sleep assessment tools for children.