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Behavioural and emotional profiles of children and adolescents with disorders of arousal
Author(s) -
Castelnovo Anna,
Turner Katherine,
Rossi Alessandro,
Galbiati Andrea,
Gagliardi Alessandra,
Proserpio Paola,
Nobili Lino,
Terzaghi Michele,
Manni Raffaele,
Ferini Strambi Luigi,
Manconi Mauro,
Miano Silvia,
Zambrelli Elena,
Paola Canevini Maria
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of sleep research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.297
H-Index - 117
eISSN - 1365-2869
pISSN - 0962-1105
DOI - 10.1111/jsr.13188
Subject(s) - arousal , psychology , child behavior checklist , sleep disorder , low arousal theory , clinical psychology , pathological , insomnia , psychiatry , medicine , neuroscience
Summary Disorders of arousals are common sleep disorders characterized by complex motor behaviours that arise episodically out of slow‐wave sleep. Psychological distress has long been associated with disorders of arousal, but this link remains controversial, especially in children and adolescents. The aim of this multi‐centre study was to characterize behavioural and emotional problems in a sample of children/adolescents with disorders of arousal, and to explore their relationship with the severity of nocturnal episodes. The parents of 41 children/adolescents with a diagnosis of disorders of arousal (11.5 ± 3.3 years old, 61% males) and of a group of 41 age‐ and gender‐matched control participants filled in the Child Behavior Checklist, along with the Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children and the Paris Arousal Disorders Severity Scale. Multilevel t ‐tests revealed significantly higher total scores and sub‐scores of the Child Behavior Checklist for the patient group compared with the control group. Thirty‐four percent of the patients obtained pathological total scores, and 12% of them borderline scores. The severity of emotional/behavioural problems in the patient group was positively correlated with the severity of the nocturnal episodes. Interestingly, children/adolescents with disorders of arousal also obtained higher excessive daytime sleepiness and insomnia symptoms sub‐scores at the Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children. These results confirmed the hypothesis that behavioural/emotional problems are surprisingly common in children/adolescents with disorders of arousal. Further studies are warranted to investigate the causal relationship between pathological manifestations, subtler sleep abnormalities, and diurnal emotional/behavioural problems in children/adolescents with disorders of arousal.