Nighttime sleep and daytime behavior in children : Studies based on parents' perseptions of five to eight year old children

Sammanfattning: The aim of this thesis is to survey sleep-wake characteristics and their associations with other factors, especially behavioural and emotional difficulties, in children. Parents' reports showed that various sleep disturbances were fairly common phenomena among 5-6-year-olds. Comparisons with Swedish studies performed 30 years earlier suggest slightly shorter sleep duration, and higher prevalence of night terrors among contemporary children. Disturbed sleep was correlated to several factors, e.g. health problems and life events. Prospective reports of specified sleep disturbances displayed persistence rates between 30% and 60% over the course of one year. Recurring nightmares were associated with behavioural and emotional difficulties, and also with other distress. Moreover, 36% of children with global reports of current sleep problems also had behaviour problems. Certain sleep disturbances tended to be specifically related to particular types of behavioural difficulties. Previous consultations for sleep problems, reported in 7% of the children, were associated with more current sleep disturbances. A need to remedy current sleep problems was confirmed in one percent of the 5-6-year-olds. Sleeping difficulties attributed to parenthood, in 22% of the mothers and 12% of the fathers, coincided with more sleep disturbances in their 5-6-year-olds. A new behavioural screening form, The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire was translated from English and used in studies of associations between sleep and daytime behaviour in children. The Swedish SDQ displayed adequate psychometric properties.Studies show that in latency children sleep disturbances are common, often persistent and frequently associated with behavioural difficulties; however, they are not necessarily indicated by obvious daytime somnolence. Findings also suggest that parents sometimes hesitate to express a need to remedy sleep problems in children. Hence, health care professionals, e.g. in child psychiatry and paediatrics need to assume an active attitude towards the exploration and treatment of sleep problems in 5-8-year-old children.