0926 Examining Sleep In Parents And Children With Behavioral Or Clinical Sleep Disturbances

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Sleep problems, such as insomnia are frequently reported in children. These sleep disturbances have either a behavioral (e.g. difficulties initiating or maintaining sleep) or clinical etiology (e.g. autism, asthma and T1 diabetes). Unlike clinical populations, outcomes in parents of children with behavioral sleep problems are underexamined. This study aimed to examine sleep in parents and children with behavioral or clinical sleep disturbances. Methods 290 parents (parents Mage = 35.9±5.2y, children Mage = 4.1± 2.3y) were recruited. Child’s sleep was reported using Child’s sleep habits questionnaire (CSHQ). Parent sleep was assessed using Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI), Pre-sleep arousal scale (PSAS), and Glasgow sleep effort scale (GSES). A demographic question on the nature of child’s sleep disturbance was used to categorize parents into a) behavioral (n=206) or b) clinical group (n=84). Results Overall, 71% of parents and 67% of children had clinically significant sleep disturbance (PSQI ≥ 5 and CSHQ ≥ 41 respectively). Significant associations were observed between CSHQ and a) PSQI (r=0.47, p<.001), b) GSES (r=0.21, p<.001), and c) PSAS (r=0.46, p<.001). Step-wise regression reported that CSHQ was the strongest predictor of PSQI, accounting for 22% variance in scores (p<.001), followed by PSAS (7%). Independent groups t-tests found no differences in parents’ sleep quality (p=.06) and pre-sleep arousal (p=.38) between clinical and behavioral groups. However, 47% of parents in the clinical group took longer than 30 minutes to fall asleep, as opposed to 30% of parents in behavioral group (t(289)=-2.39, p=.01). Conclusion Parents report having poor sleep irrespective of the nature of child’s sleep difficulties. It is possible that parents in the clinical group may underreport their sleep problems due to increased attention towards child’s symptoms and diagnosis. Nevertheless, if any sleep related issues occur in children, the impact on parental sleep should be considered during assessment. Support N/A