Dimensional Validation of the Italian Revised Version of the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ-r) for...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Psychology
• Pediatric Sleep Medicine

Background:

• Sleep disturbances are prevalent in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), potentially worsening neurobehavioral and social challenges.
• Parental reports are key for assessing pediatric sleep, with the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ) adapted for ASD in the US.
• The CSHQ's cross-cultural validity for ASD populations, including in Italy, requires examination.

Purpose of the Study:

• To adapt and validate an Italian version of the CSHQ for children and adolescents with ASD.
• To assess the psychometric properties and dimensional structure of the revised CSHQ in an Italian ASD sample.
• To compare sleep problem prevalence between Italian youth with ASD and typically developing (TD) peers.

Main Methods:

• Back-translation of the 23-item CSHQ for ASD into Italian, followed by revision.
• Explorative Graph Analysis was used to validate the dimensional structure in a sample of children and adolescents with ASD.
• Comparison of scores between the ASD group and a TD group using the revised scale.

Main Results:

• The revised Italian CSHQ (CSHQ-r) is a 15-item tool with a stable four-dimension structure: Sleep initiation/duration, Sleep anxiety/Co-sleeping, Night awakenings/Parasomnias, and Daytime alertness.
• The ASD group scored significantly higher on the CSHQ-r than the TD group, indicating a greater frequency of sleep disturbances.
• The CSHQ-r demonstrated good structural stability.

Conclusions:

• The four-dimensional CSHQ-r is a reliable screening tool for sleep disorders in Italian children and adolescents with ASD.
• Findings suggest a higher prevalence of sleep disturbances in Italian youth with ASD compared to TD peers.
• The CSHQ-r has potential utility in clinical practice for assessing sleep issues in this population.