Identifying Adolescent Sleep Problems

OBJECTIVES: To examine the efficacy of self-report and parental report of adolescent sleep problems and compare these findings to the incidence of adolescents who fulfill clinical criteria for a sleep problem. Sleep and daytime functioning factors that predict adolescents’ self-identification of a sleep problem will also be examined. METHOD: 308 adolescents (aged 13–17 years) from eight socioeconomically diverse South Australian high schools participated in this study. Participants completed a survey battery during class time, followed by a 7-day Sleep Diary and the Flinders Fatigue Scale completed on the final day of the study. Parents completed a Sleep, Medical, Education and Family History Survey. RESULTS: The percentage of adolescents fulfilling one or more of the criteria for a sleep problem was inordinately high at 66%. Adolescent self-reporting a sleep problem was significantly lower than the adolescents who had one or more of the clinical criteria for a sleep problem (23.1% vs. 66.6%; χ(2) = 17.46, p<.001). Parental report of their adolescent having a sleep problem was significantly lower than adolescent self-report (14.3% vs. 21.1%, p<.001). Adolescents who reported unrefreshing sleep were 4.81 times more likely to report a sleep problem. For every hour that bedtime was delayed, the odds of self-reporting a sleep problem increased by 1.91 times, while each additional 10 minutes taken to fall asleep increased the odds 1.40 times. CONCLUSION: While many adolescents were found to have sleep patterns indicative of a sleep problem, only a third of this number self-identify having a sleep problem, while only a sixth of this number are indicated by parental report. This study highlights important features to target in future sleep education and intervention strategies for both adolescents and parents.