Estimating child sleep from parent report of time in bed: development and evaluation of adjustment approaches

Timothy D Nelson; Alyssa Lundahl; Dennis L Molfese; Rachel N Waford; Adrienne Roman; David Gozal; Victoria J Molfese; Melissa C Ferguson

doi:10.1093/jpepsy/jsu020

Estimating child sleep from parent report of time in bed: development and evaluation of adjustment approaches

J Pediatr Psychol. 2014 Jul;39(6):624-32. doi: 10.1093/jpepsy/jsu020. Epub 2014 Apr 28.

Authors

Timothy D Nelson¹, Alyssa Lundahl², Dennis L Molfese³, Rachel N Waford², Adrienne Roman², David Gozal², Victoria J Molfese², Melissa C Ferguson²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Emory University School of Medicine/Grady Memorial Hospital, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Department of Pediatrics, University of Chicago, Department of Child, Youth and Family Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Louisville tnelson3@unl.edu.
² Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Emory University School of Medicine/Grady Memorial Hospital, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Department of Pediatrics, University of Chicago, Department of Child, Youth and Family Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Louisville.
³ Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Emory University School of Medicine/Grady Memorial Hospital, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Department of Pediatrics, University of Chicago, Department of Child, Youth and Family Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of LouisvilleDepartment of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Emory University School of Medicine/Grady Memorial Hospital, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Department of Pediatrics, University of Chicago, Department of Child, Youth and Family Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Louisville.

Abstract

Objective: To develop and evaluate adjustment factors to convert parent-reported time in bed to an estimate of child sleep time consistent with objective measurement.

Methods: A community sample of 217 children aged 4-9 years (mean age = 6.6 years) wore actigraph wristwatches to objectively measure sleep for 7 days while parents completed reports of child sleep each night. After examining the moderators of the discrepancy between parent reports and actigraphy, 3 adjustment factors were evaluated.

Results: Parent report of child sleep overestimated nightly sleep duration by ∼24 min per night relative to actigraphy. Child age, gender, and sleep quality all had small or nonsignificant associations with correspondence between parent report and actigraph. Empirically derived adjustment factors significantly reduced the discrepancy between parent report and objective measurement.

Conclusions: Simple adjustment factors can enhance the correspondence and utility of parent reports of child sleep duration for clinical and research purposes.

Keywords: actigraphy; adjustment; child sleep; correspondence; parent report.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

Actigraphy*
Age Factors
Child
Child, Preschool
Female
Humans
Male
Sex Factors
Sleep / physiology*

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding