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A Twin‐Study of Sleep Difficulties in School‐Aged Children
Author(s) -
Gregory Alice M.,
Rijsdijk Frühling V.,
Eley Thalia C.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2006.00966.x
Subject(s) - bedtime , psychology , sleep (system call) , developmental psychology , twin study , clinical psychology , psychiatry , heritability , biology , computer science , genetics , operating system
This study examines frequency, overlap, and genetic and environmental influences on sleep difficulties, which are understudied in school‐aged children. The Sleep Self Report and the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire were completed by 300 twin pairs (aged 8 years) and their parents. Child report suggested more frequent sleep problems than parent report (e.g., regular sleep onset delay was reported by 45% of children and 17% of parents). Associations between most of the sleep difficulties were small but significant (e.g., r s =.16 for parent report of bedtime resistance and sleep onset delay). Twin correlations based on parent reports suggest greater genetic influence ( M =50%) than those based on child self‐report ( M =18%). Possible rater effects should be considered when evaluating children's sleep problems.