An Independent Evaluation of the Psychometric Properties of the Russian Version of the Pediatric Daytime Sleepiness Scale (PDSS)

BACKGROUND: The quality of sleep significantly impacts children’s day-to-day performance, with at least 20% reporting issues with sleepiness. Valid tools for assessing the quality of sleep are needed. OBJECTIVE: In this study, we assessed the psychometric properties of the Russian version of the Pediatric Daytime Sleepiness Scale (PDSS). The initial adaptation of the PDSS was conducted on a sample from the Arctic regions of Russia. This location may have influenced the scale’s generalizability due to variations in natural daylight across different areas of the country. DESIGN: To rectify this, we gathered a comprehensive, geographically diverse sample from Russia. This combined dataset comprised 3772 participants between 10 to 18 years of age, from nine different regions of Russia. RESULTS: We confirmed the unifactorial structure of the PDSS, which showed no regional effects. The psychometric analysis indicated that one item from the 8item PDSS could be removed, thereby improving the scale’s model fit. We also observed gender and age impacts on sleep quality: boys reported fewer sleep-related issues than girls, and younger children reported fewer problems than older children. CONCLUSION: This study validates the usefulness and reliability of the Russian version of the PDSS, thereby enhancing its general applicability. Furthermore, we replicated previously reported age and sex effects on the sleep quality of school-aged children.