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Sleep Disturbances in Pediatric Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors: A Preliminary Investigation
Sydney D Biscarri Clark1, Ashley A Lahoud2, Theresa R Gladstone2
1Department of Psychological Sciences, Kent State University, 600 Hilltop Dr, Kent, OH, 44240, USA. sbiscarr@kent.edu.
Child Psychiatry and Human Development
|March 21, 2022
Summary
Disordered sleep is linked to body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs) in children. Addressing sleep issues may help manage BFRB severity and improve psychological health.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Pediatrics
- Sleep Medicine
Background:
- Body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs) involve repeated self-grooming actions causing physical damage.
- Limited research exists on sleep's role in pediatric BFRBs.
- Sleep is a known factor in overall psychological health.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the connection between disordered sleep and BFRBs in a community sample of children.
- To determine if group membership (control, subthreshold BFRB, or symptomatic BFRB) predicts sleep disturbance.
- To test the relationship between sleep disturbance and BFRB severity.
Main Methods:
- Community sample of children assessed for BFRB symptoms and sleep disturbance.
- Hierarchical regression analysis used to examine predictive power and relationships.
- Anxiety levels controlled for in the analysis.
Main Results:
- Group membership significantly predicted sleep disturbance, even after controlling for anxiety.
- Anxiety accounted for 23.1% of the variance in BFRB severity.
- Sleep disturbance uniquely contributed an additional 7.2% to the variance in BFRB severity.
Conclusions:
- Sleep disturbance is a significant factor associated with BFRB severity in children.
- Findings suggest sleep should be considered in the clinical conceptualization of pediatric BFRBs.
- Interventions targeting sleep may be beneficial for children with BFRBs.
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