Showing papers by "Gerard A. Kerkhof published in 2014"

Adolescents' sleep in low-stress and high-stress (exam) times: a prospective quasi-experiment.

Abstract: This prospective quasi-experiment (N = 175; mean age = 15.14 years) investigates changes in adolescents' sleep from low-stress (regular school week) to high-stress times (exam week), and examines the (moderating) role of chronic sleep reduction, baseline stress, and gender. Sleep was monitored over three consecutive weeks using actigraphy. Adolescents' sleep was more fragmented during the high-stress time than during the low-stress time, meaning that individuals slept more restless during stressful times. However, sleep efficiency, total sleep time, and sleep onset latency remained stable throughout the three consecutive weeks. High chronic sleep reduction was related to later bedtimes, later sleep start times, later sleep end times, later getting up times, and more time spent in bed. Furthermore, low chronic sleep reduction and high baseline stress levels were related to more fragmented sleep during stressful times. This study shows that stressful times can have negative effects on adolescents' sleep fragmentation, especially for adolescents with low chronic sleep reduction or high baseline stress levels.

Screening for sleep reduction in adolescents through self-report: Development and validation of the sleep reduction screening questionnaire (SRSQ)

Abstract: Sleep reduction, resulting from insufficient or poor sleep, is a common phenomenon in adolescents. Due to its severe negative psychological and behavioral daytime consequences, it is important to have a short reliable and valid measure to assess symptoms of sleep reduction. This study aims to validate the Sleep Reduction Screening Questionnaire (SRSQ) that can be used to screen for symptoms of sleep reduction in adolescents. Various samples from the general and clinical populations were included in the study. The SRSQ is a nine-item questionnaire that is based on the longer, four dimensional Chronic Sleep Reduction Questionnaire (Meijer in J Sleep Res 17:395–405, doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2869.2008.00677.x , 2008). Items were selected on the basis of principal components analysis, item-total correlations, and substantive consideration. The SRSQ was validated by calculating correlations with self-reported and objective sleep and self-reported daytime functioning. Cut-off scores were determined so that the SRSQ can be used as a screening instrument. Internal consistencies of the SRSQ were good (Cronbach’s alpha = .79 in the general population). Correlations with self-reported sleep, daytime functioning and objective sleep variables were satisfactory and in the expected directions. The SRSQ discriminates well between clinical and non-clinical cases. When accounting for prevalence of sleep reduction symptoms in the general population, the area under the curve was .91, sensitivity was .80 and specificity was .87. The SRSQ appears to be a short reliable and valid questionnaire. Due to the limited number of items and the availability of cut-off scores, it is a practical tool for clinical and research purposes.

[Sleep-wake disorders and DSM-5].

Abstract: Background Most individuals with mental disorders complain about the problems they experience with sleeping and waking. It is becoming evident that careful diagnosis of sleep-wake disorders is of great importance for the prevention and treatment of mental disorders. Since the introduction of the DSM-IV, clinical scientific research has provided important new insights in this field. Aim To find out whether the new classification of sleep-wake disorders in DSM-5 is likely to improve the diagnosis of disorders of this type. Method We discuss the main changes in the DSM-5 classification of sleep- wake disorders, comparing the new version with the version in DSM-IV. Results Because considerable attention is being given to the symptom-orientated and dimensional approach, the classification of sleep-wake disorders in the DSM-5 is closer to current psychiatric practice and it does justice to the current scientific insights into the dimensional nature of psychiatric disorders. Conclusion The DSM-5 classification takes recent scientific insights into account and might help to improve the diagnosis of sleep-wake disorders in psychiatry.