Association of Parent-Adolescent Involvement and Sleep Problems among Youth Presenting with Clinical Sleep Concerns

Poor adolescent sleep is associated with negative outcomes in physical health, mood, behavior, academic performance, attention, and other domains. Parental involvement, including parent-adolescent communication and parental monitoring, is associated with positive sleep outcomes in non-clinical adolescent populations. However, there is a paucity of research examining the impact of parental involvement on sleep quality and hygiene among adolescent clinical sleep samples. This study analyzed the associations between parent involvement and adolescent sleep in a sample of adolescent patients with clinical sleep disturbances.

Adolescents ages 12-18 (N = 139; 52.5% male, 67% Hispanic/Latinx) completed questionnaires measuring parent-adolescent communication, insomnia, sleep quality, and sleep hygiene, while their caregivers completed measures of parent monitoring (i.e. oversight of their child's activities) and parent-adolescent communication. Multiple linear regression analyses examined associations between aspects of parental involvement and adolescent sleep.

Better parent-adolescent communication, as reported by adolescents, was associated with fewer behavioral sleep problems (i.e. better sleep hygiene and sleep quality; ps < .05). Unexpectedly, greater parent monitoring was associated with worse physiological and cognitive and emotional aspects of sleep hygiene.

Findings indicate that in youth presenting with sleep disturbances, more open communication with caregivers as reported by adolescents is associated with better sleep outcomes, while parental monitoring showed inverse associations with specific aspects of sleep. As these findings emerged in a sample experiencing clinical sleep problems, family communication and monitoring should continue to be explored in clinical samples to determine their relevance in clinical interventions.