OBJECTIVE: To examine the etiologies of covariation of childhood sleep problems and other behavioral/emotional problems in young children. METHOD: The parents of more than 6,000 twin pairs provided information on their twins' anxiety, conduct, and hyperactivity at ages 3, 4, and 7 by completing the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Information on sleep problems was obtained at age 3/4. RESULTS: Phenotypic correlations in preschool years between sleep problems and anxiety, conduct, and hyperactivity ranged from 0.17 to 0.22. These correlations were largely due to shared environmental factors (0.72-0.96) and less to heredity (0.05-0.26) and nonshared environment (0.00-0.06). Sleep problems at age 3/4 years predicted at age 7 years anxiety (beta =.12, p <.001), conduct problems (beta =.09, p <.001), and hyperactivity (beta =.07, p <.001), after accounting for stability of these problems. These predictive associations were also mainly mediated by shared environment (0.16-0.91), although genetic (0.02-0.84) and nonshared environmental (-0.03-0.09) factors were also influential. CONCLUSIONS: The modest associations between early sleep problems and later behavioral/emotional problems are largely accounted for by common psychosocial risk factors. Further research on which specific risks may mediate these connections is needed.
OBJECTIVE: To examine the etiologies of covariation of childhood sleep problems and other behavioral/emotional problems in young children. METHOD: The parents of more than 6,000 twin pairs provided information on their twins' anxiety, conduct, and hyperactivity at ages 3, 4, and 7 by completing the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Information on sleep problems was obtained at age 3/4. RESULTS: Phenotypic correlations in preschool years between sleep problems and anxiety, conduct, and hyperactivity ranged from 0.17 to 0.22. These correlations were largely due to shared environmental factors (0.72-0.96) and less to heredity (0.05-0.26) and nonshared environment (0.00-0.06). Sleep problems at age 3/4 years predicted at age 7 years anxiety (beta =.12, p <.001), conduct problems (beta =.09, p <.001), and hyperactivity (beta =.07, p <.001), after accounting for stability of these problems. These predictive associations were also mainly mediated by shared environment (0.16-0.91), although genetic (0.02-0.84) and nonshared environmental (-0.03-0.09) factors were also influential. CONCLUSIONS: The modest associations between early sleep problems and later behavioral/emotional problems are largely accounted for by common psychosocial risk factors. Further research on which specific risks may mediate these connections is needed.
Authors: Susan L Calhoun; Julio Fernandez-Mendoza; Alexandros N Vgontzas; Susan D Mayes; Duanping Liao; Edward O Bixler Journal: J Abnorm Child Psychol Date: 2017-02
Authors: Erin P Hambrick; Sonia L Rubens; Thomas W Brawner; Heather N Taussig Journal: J Child Psychol Psychiatry Date: 2017-09-01 Impact factor: 8.982