Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children: Italian Validation in Autism Spectrum Disorder Population

Overview

Journal Int J Environ Res Public Health

Publisher MDPI

Specialties Environmental Health
Public Health

Date 2022 Aug 26

PMID 36011798

Authors

Ester Mignolli

Alessia Scialpi

Donatella Valente

Anna Berardi

Giovanni Galeoto

Marco Tofani

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Sleep disorders in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are well-described. However, there is a lack of specific assessment tools to investigate sleep disturbance in this target population. The present investigation reports the Italian validation of the Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children (SDSC) in the ASD population, also investigating the correlation between sleep disorders In both children and parents. Internal consistency and test−retest reliability were investigated using Cronbach’s alpha and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), respectively. Concurrent validity was analyzed by comparing the score of the SDSC with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), while the correlation between the SDCS score and the General Sleep Disturbance Scale (GSDS) was used to analyze the correlation between sleep disorders in children and sleep disorders in their parents. In total, 99 children with a diagnosis of ASD participated in the study. Cronbach’s alpha revealed satisfactory value (0.853), as well as reliability (ICC 0.972) and concurrent validity (0.745). Our results also revealed a significant linear correlation between children’s and parents’ sleep disorders (p < 0.05). In conclusion, we found the SDSC to be a useful tool for measuring sleep disorders in ASD children. Our findings offer concrete inputs to achieve adequate pathways for taking care of children with ASDs and their parents.

Citing Articles

Assessment of Psychometric Characteristics of Parkinson's Disease Sleep Scale 2 and Analysis of a Cut-Off Score for Detecting Insomnia in Italian Patients with Parkinson's Disease: A Validation Study.

Liguori C, Frontani F, Francescangeli G, Pierantozzi M, Cerroni R, Schirinzi T J Pers Med. 2024; 14(3).

PMID: 38541040 PMC: 10970735. DOI: 10.3390/jpm14030298.

References

Chen H, Yang T, Chen J, Chen L, Dai Y, Zhang J . Sleep problems in children with autism spectrum disorder: a multicenter survey. BMC Psychiatry. 2021; 21(1):406. PMC: 8365936. DOI: 10.1186/s12888-021-03405-w. View

Ohayon M . Epidemiology of insomnia: what we know and what we still need to learn. Sleep Med Rev. 2003; 6(2):97-111. DOI: 10.1053/smrv.2002.0186. View

Mazurek M, Petroski G . Sleep problems in children with autism spectrum disorder: examining the contributions of sensory over-responsivity and anxiety. Sleep Med. 2015; 16(2):270-9. DOI: 10.1016/j.sleep.2014.11.006. View

Polimeni M, Richdale A, Francis A . A survey of sleep problems in autism, Asperger's disorder and typically developing children. J Intellect Disabil Res. 2005; 49(Pt 4):260-8. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2788.2005.00642.x. View

Agca S, Gorker I, Turan F, Ozturk L . Validity and reliability of the Turkish version of Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children. Sleep Med. 2021; 84:56-62. DOI: 10.1016/j.sleep.2021.05.016. View

Cavalli G, Galeoto G, Sogos C, Berardi A, Tofani M . The efficacy of executive function interventions in children with autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Expert Rev Neurother. 2021; 22(1):77-84. DOI: 10.1080/14737175.2022.2011215. View

Cortese S, Wang F, Angriman M, Masi G, Bruni O . Sleep Disorders in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Diagnosis, Epidemiology, and Management. CNS Drugs. 2020; 34(4):415-423. DOI: 10.1007/s40263-020-00710-y. View

Bruni O, OTTAVIANO S, Guidetti V, Romoli M, Innocenzi M, Cortesi F . The Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children (SDSC). Construction and validation of an instrument to evaluate sleep disturbances in childhood and adolescence. J Sleep Res. 1996; 5(4):251-61. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2869.1996.00251.x. View

Soltanifar A, Akbarzadeh F, Moharreri F, Soltanifar A, Ebrahimi A, Mokhber N . Comparison of parental stress among mothers and fathers of children with autistic spectrum disorder in Iran. Iran J Nurs Midwifery Res. 2015; 20(1):93-8. PMC: 4325421. View

10.

Ferreira V, Carvalho L, Ruotolo F, de Morais J, Prado L, Prado G . Sleep disturbance scale for children: translation, cultural adaptation, and validation. Sleep Med. 2008; 10(4):457-63. DOI: 10.1016/j.sleep.2008.03.018. View

11.

Markovich A, Gendron M, Corkum P . Validating the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire Against Polysomnography and Actigraphy in School-Aged Children. Front Psychiatry. 2015; 5:188. PMC: 4285019. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2014.00188. View

12.

Al-Farsi O, Al-Farsi Y, Al-Sharbati M, Al-Adawi S . Stress, anxiety, and depression among parents of children with autism spectrum disorder in Oman: a case-control study. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2016; 12:1943-51. PMC: 4977076. DOI: 10.2147/NDT.S107103. View

13.

Berardi A, Panuccio F, Pilli L, Tofani M, Valente D, Galeoto G . Evaluation instruments for executive functions in children and adolescents: a systematic review. Expert Rev Pharmacoecon Outcomes Res. 2021; 21(5):885-896. DOI: 10.1080/14737167.2021.1908889. View

14.

Moore M, Evans V, Hanvey G, Johnson C . Assessment of Sleep in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Children (Basel). 2017; 4(8). PMC: 5575594. DOI: 10.3390/children4080072. View

15.

Tofani M, Blasetti G G, Lucibello L, Sabbadini M, Berardi A, Galeoto G . Seated postural control measure: Italian translation and validation in children with cerebral palsy. Prosthet Orthot Int. 2021; 45(5):378-383. DOI: 10.1097/PXR.0000000000000033. View

16.

Schreck K, Mulick J, Smith A . Sleep problems as possible predictors of intensified symptoms of autism. Res Dev Disabil. 2004; 25(1):57-66. DOI: 10.1016/j.ridd.2003.04.007. View

17.

Johnson C, Smith T, DeMand A, Lecavalier L, Evans V, Gurka M . Exploring sleep quality of young children with autism spectrum disorder and disruptive behaviors. Sleep Med. 2018; 44:61-66. PMC: 5853135. DOI: 10.1016/j.sleep.2018.01.008. View

18.

Ohayon M, Smirne S . Prevalence and consequences of insomnia disorders in the general population of Italy. Sleep Med. 2003; 3(2):115-20. DOI: 10.1016/s1389-9457(01)00158-7. View

19.

Galeoto G, Scialpi A, Grassi M, Berardi A, Valente D, Tofani M . General Sleep Disturbance Scale: Translation, cultural adaptation, and psychometric properties of the Italian version. Cranio. 2019; 39(4):326-334. DOI: 10.1080/08869634.2019.1627067. View

20.

Huang M, Qian Z, Wang J, Vaughn M, Lee Y, Dong G . Validation of the sleep disturbance scale for children and prevalence of parent-reported sleep disorder symptoms in Chinese children. Sleep Med. 2014; 15(8):923-8. DOI: 10.1016/j.sleep.2014.03.023. View