Factor Structure of the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire in Young Children with and Without Autism

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Sleep Medicine
• Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
• Developmental Psychology

Background:

• The Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ) is widely used for assessing sleep in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
• Limited research exists on the CSHQ's factor structure specifically in younger children (2-4 years old) with ASD.
• Understanding the CSHQ's psychometric properties in this age group is crucial for accurate sleep assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate alternative factor structures of the CSHQ in 2- to 4-year-old children with ASD and typical development (TD).
• To assess the measurement invariance of CSHQ items across ASD and TD groups.
• To determine the suitability of the CSHQ for cross-group comparisons in early childhood.

Main Methods:

• Employed bifactor models to analyze the factor structure of CSHQ items.
• Examined data from 2- to 4-year-old children diagnosed with ASD or TD.
• Performed measurement invariance testing across the ASD and TD groups.

Main Results:

• Bifactor models revealed that a general factor, primarily related to sleep initiation and nighttime awakenings, accounted for the subscales' variance.
• A specific factor comprising 7 CSHQ items demonstrated measurement invariance between ASD and TD groups.
• Other CSHQ item composites did not show measurement invariance across the groups.

Conclusions:

• A 7-item subset of the CSHQ, focusing on sleep initiation and awakenings, is a reliable measure for comparing sleep patterns in young children with ASD and TD.
• The findings support the use of this specific CSHQ measure for cross-group comparisons but caution against using other composites.
• This research provides a psychometrically sound tool for understanding early sleep disturbances in ASD.