Gender and Age Differences in Sleep Problems in Children: Person-Oriented Approach With Multigroup Analysis

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Sleep Medicine
• Child Psychology
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Sleep problems are common in children and can impact development.
• Understanding distinct patterns of sleep issues is crucial for effective intervention.
• Previous research has not fully elucidated gender and age-specific sleep problem subtypes in children.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify distinct subtypes of sleep problems in children.
• To investigate how these sleep problem patterns differ between genders and age groups (elementary vs. junior high school).

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from 3,052 children aged 7-16 years from school-based epidemiological samples.
• Employed the Sleep Habit Questionnaire for parent-reported sleep problem assessment.
• Applied latent class modeling with multigroup analysis to identify sleep problem clusters.

Main Results:

• Identified four distinct classes of sleep problems: moderate to high, sleep-related breathing/parasomnias dominant, insomnia/parasomnias dominant, and no/low sleep problems.
• Prevalence rates for these classes varied significantly across different gender and age groups.
• Observed a complex interaction between gender and age in the manifestation of sleep problem subtypes.

Conclusions:

• Four distinct subtypes of pediatric sleep problems were identified, with differing prevalence based on gender and age.
• Findings suggest the necessity for gender- and age-specific interventions for childhood sleep disorders.
• Further research is recommended to validate these classes and explore associated factors.