| dc.description.abstract | Reduced sleep has acutely detrimental effects on children’s functioning. However, the prevalence and stability of objectively measured insufficient sleep throughout childhood is unknown. Although many children have periods when they sleep too little, little is known about persistent short sleep or predictors thereof. Further, although ill mental health and reduced sleep appear concurrently, little is known about longitudinal associations, and the direction of influence is uncertain. In the present thesis, three studies were conducted using data from the Trondheim Early Secure Study (TESS)—an ongoing Norwegian prospective cohort study following children biennially from age 4 to 16 years—to examine the prevalence and stability of insufficient sleep (study I, following children from age 6-12 years); child-, parent- and peer related predictors of persistent short sleep (study II, following children from age 6-14); and bidirectional prospective associations between sleep duration and symptoms of psychiatric disorders (study III, following children from age 6-14). Sleep was assessed through actigraphy, child temperamental negativity was reported by parents, parental emotional availability was observed, victimization from bullying was reported by parents, and symptoms of psychiatric disorder were assessed through structured clinical interviews of children and parents (PAPA and CAPA). The results show that the prevalence and stability of insufficient sleep are low in this population. Persistent short sleep was predicted by high temperamental negative affectivity and low parental emotional availability but not by victimization from bullying (and no interactions were found). Reduced sleep duration prospectively predicted more symptoms of psychiatric disorders but not vice versa. Theoretical considerations and implications of the results are discussed. | en_US |
