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A preliminary validation of the pediatric adaptation of the Insomnia Severity Index
I Denis1, S Turcotte2, C M Morin3
1School of Psychology, Université Laval, G1V 0A6 Québec City, Canada; Research Centre, Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux de Chaudière-Appalaches, G6V 3Z1 Lévis, Canada; Centre de recherche universitaire sur les jeunes familles, G1C 3S2 Québec City, Canada.
Insights
A new pediatric adaptation of the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) shows promise for identifying sleep issues in school-aged children. This tool offers a reliable and valid method for assessing childhood insomnia and its impact.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Psychology
- Sleep Medicine
- Child Psychiatry
Background:
- Insomnia affects 20-31% of children aged 5-12 years.
- Existing questionnaires lack comprehensive assessment of childhood insomnia components.
- A validated tool is needed for school-aged children's insomnia assessment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce and validate a pediatric adaptation of the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI).
- To assess the reliability and validity of the adapted ISI for children.
- To evaluate both child and parent perspectives on insomnia symptoms.
Main Methods:
- Recruited 59 children (8-12 years) with anxiety disorders.
- Parents completed the adapted ISI (ISI-Child and ISI-Parent), My Child's Sleep Habits, and Child Behavior Checklist.
- Statistical analyses included factorial structure, internal consistency, and validity assessments.
Main Results:
- The ISI-Child and ISI-Parent scales demonstrated adequate factorial structure and internal consistency (α=0.87 and 0.88, respectively).
- Strong correlations were found between ISI-Child and ISI-Parent (r=0.91, P<0.001).
- Adequate convergent and good divergent validity were confirmed through correlations with other measures.
Conclusions:
- The pediatric ISI adaptation is a potentially reliable and valid screening tool.
- It effectively measures insomnia symptoms and their impact in school-aged children.
- This adapted ISI can aid in the assessment of childhood insomnia.
Introduction:
The prevalence of insomnia in children aged 5 to 12 years old is 20% to 31%. Currently, there is no well-validated questionnaire assessing all the components of insomnia in school-aged children. The present study aims to introduce an adaptation of the Insomnia Severity Index for this purpose.
Method:
Fifty-nine children aged 8- to 12-years-old with at least one anxiety disorder were recruited from youth mental health care settings. Their parents completed the pediatric adaptation of the Insomnia Severity Index which includes two scales used to report insomnia symptoms in children and their impact on the child (ISI-Child) and parents (ISI-Parent), My Child's Sleep Habits questionnaire, and the Child Behavior Checklist.
Results:
Both the ISI-Child and the ISI-Parent scales presented adequate factorial structure (RMSEA ≤ 0.05) and internal consistency (ISI-Child: α=0.87; ISI-Parent: α=0.88). Furthermore, the results of the two scales were strongly correlated (r=0.91, P<0.001). The convergent validity was assessed using the Waking During the Night scale of the My Child's Sleep Habits questionnaire and was adequate for the ISI-Child (r=0.52, P<0.001) and the ISI-Parent (r=0.53, P<0.001). Finally, the Rule-Breaking Behavior (r ≤ 0.26, P ≥ 0.05) and Aggressive Behavior (r ≤ 0.19, P ≥ 0.19) scales of the Child Behavior Checklist showed small correlations with both subscales, indicating good divergent validity.
Conclusion:
The pediatric adaptation of the Insomnia Severity Index is a potentially reliable and valid measure for screening and assessing insomnia in children.
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