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Journal of Pediatric Psychology Advance Access originally published online on February 4, 2008
Journal of Pediatric Psychology 2008 33(4):380-386; doi:10.1093/jpepsy/jsn005
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© The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Pediatric Psychology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Brief Report: Sleep in Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Lisa J. Meltzer, PhD

Department of Pediatrics and Division of Pulmonary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania and The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

All correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Lisa J. Meltzer, PhD, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 3535 Market Street, 14th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. E-mail: meltzerl{at}email.chop.edu


  Abstract

Objective To examine sleep quality and sleep–wake patterns in parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and parents of typically developing (TD) children. Methods Thirty-five mothers and 22 fathers completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, a 7-day sleep diary, and wore an actigraph for 1 week. Results Parents of children with ASDs reported poorer sleep quality compared to the TD group. In addition, parents of children with ASDs had objectively different sleep patterns, with an earlier wake time and shorter total sleep time than parents of TD children. Finally, regardless of group, fathers had significantly shorter sleep time compared to mothers. Conclusions This study is one of the first to demonstrate poorer sleep quality and shorter sleep quantity in parents of children with ASDs using validated measures of sleep. Future studies should examine the relationship between chronic sleep loss and stress in parents of children with ASDs.

Key words: autism; children; fathers; mothers; sleep.

Received May 2, 2007; revision received January 9, 2008; accepted January 10, 2008


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