Child sleep problems associated with impaired academic and psychosocial functioning

Date:
August 3, 2020
Source:
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Summary:
A new study has found that sleep disturbances at any age are
associated with diminished well-being by the time the children
are 10 or 11 years old. The findings suggest health care providers
should screen children for sleep problems at every age and intervene
early when a sleep problem is identified.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Whether children have ongoing sleep problems from birth through childhood
or do not develop sleep problems until they begin school, a new study by researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) has found that
sleep disturbances at any age are associated with diminished well-being
by the time the children are 10 or 11 years old. The findings, which
were published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, suggest health care providers should screen children for sleep problems at every
age and intervene early when a sleep problem is identified.


==========================================================================
"Our study shows that although those with persistent sleep problems have
the greatest impairments when it comes to broad child well-being, even
those with mild sleep problems over time experience some psychosocial impairments," said Ariel A. Williamson, PhD, a psychologist in the Sleep
Center and faculty member at PolicyLab and the Center for Pediatric
Clinical Effectiveness at CHOP. "The range of impairments across academic
and psychosocial domains in middle childhood indicate that it is important
to screen for sleep problems consistently over the course of a child's development, especially to target children who experience persistent sleep problems over time." The researchers examined data from an Australian
birth cohort involving more than 5,000 patients. Caregivers reported on
whether their children had sleep problems at multiple points in time,
from birth through 10 or 11 years of age.

To assess child well-being, which included psychosocial measures like
self- control and emotional/behavioral health and academic performance measures, the researchers used a combination of reports from caregivers
and teachers as well as child-completed assessments.

In analyzing caregiver-reported sleep behaviors, the researchers found
five distinct sleep problem trajectories, or patterns that characterized
child sleep problems over time: persistent sleep problems through middle childhood (7.7%), limited infant/ preschool sleep problems (9.0%),
increased middle childhood sleep problems (17.0%), mild sleep problems
over time (14.4%) and no sleep problems (51.9%).

Using those with no sleep problems as a benchmark, the researchers
found that children with persistent sleep problems had the greatest
impairments across all outcomes except in their perceptual reasoning
skills. Children with increased middle childhood sleep problems also experienced greater psychosocial problems and worse quality of life,
but did not score lower on academic achievement.

Children with limited infant/preschool sleep problems or mild increases
in sleep problems over time also demonstrated psychosocial impairments
and had worse caregiver-reported quality of life, but the effects were
smaller than the other sleep trajectories.

While the researchers found impairments related to all of the sleep
problem trajectories, they note the possibility that for certain
trajectories, the relationship could be bidirectional -- that is,
psychosocial issues like anxiety could lead to sleep issues, and vice
versa, particularly in children who develop sleep problems later in
childhood.

"Although this study cannot answer whether minor, early or persistent
sleep problems represent a marker for the onset of behavioral health
or neurodevelopmental conditions, our findings support consistently
integrating questions about sleep into routine developmental screenings
in school and primary care contexts," Williamson said.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
Children's_Hospital_of_Philadelphia. Note: Content may be edited for
style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Ariel A. Williamson, Jodi A. Mindell, Harriet Hiscock, Jon Quach.

Longitudinal sleep problem trajectories are associated with multiple
impairments in child well‐being. Journal of Child Psychology
and Psychiatry, 2020; DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.13303 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200803140012.htm

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