Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Child And Adolescent Sleep Disturbances And Psychopathology In A Mental Health Clinic Sample, Aviva Blacher

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Sleep disturbances in children and adolescents (hereafter children) are associated with significant short-term and long-term impairments including more severe psychopathology, reduced cognitive functioning, and poorer general health. We know that children being treated in specialty mental health services are more likely to have sleep disturbances than community samples. We also know that relationships exist between sleep and psychopathology in children with specific disorders (e.g. ADHD, depression, etc.). However, few studies have investigated the relationship between sleep and psychopathology in a broad sample of children seen at mental health agencies. Both child factors and family factors may influence both sleep and …

Sleep-Wake Problems And Daytime Sleepiness As Predictors Of Emotion Regulation Strategies: A Longitudinal Study In Early Adolescence, Megan Toney

Honors Theses

Objective: Research has analyzed the association between poor sleep and emotion regulation abilities, yet most studies have focused on adult samples which may not generalize to youth. The present study examines how sleep problems and daytime sleepiness in early adolescence were associated with specific forms of emotion regulation later in adolescence.

Methods: A group of 109 children from a larger longitudinal study on cognitive development completed questionnaires at two separate timepoints. Cognitive tasks and survey-based measures were completed at the first point of data collection (M_age = 11.90, SD = .91, range = 10-14). Approximately 10 months later, …

Sleep, Communicative Ability, And Diet As Predictors Of Aggression In Autism Spectrum Disorder, Rafat Omar

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Aggression is a common behavioral issue in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Aggression is often treated with evidence-based behavioral treatments, such as applied behavioral analysis and functional communication training. Another form of intervention that has grown in popularity is to alter the child’s diet. The most popular dietary intervention, the autism diet, has been used as a form of behavior management by parents and guardians for children diagnosed with ASD to address aggressive behavior; however, its use has not been strongly supported by research. The authors proposed that a more beneficial way of understanding aggression in ASD is to …

Loneliness And Sleep Disturbance In Older Americans, Sarah C. Griffin

Theses and Dissertations

Loneliness is a risk factor for premature mortality but the mechanics of this relationship remain obscure. A potential mechanism is sleep disturbance. The present study aimed to examine the association between loneliness and sleep disturbance, evaluate loneliness as a risk factor for sleep disturbance and vice-versa, model effects between loneliness and sleep disturbance over time, and evaluate a mediation model of loneliness, sleep disturbance, and health. Data came from the 2006-2012 waves of the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally-representative study of older Americans; participants > 65 were included (n=11,400). Analyses included (i) linear regressions accounting for complex sampling and (ii) …

The Relationship Between Cognitive Distortions, Self-Compassion, And Insomnia Severity, Gabriel Stanziano

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

The goal of this study was to examine the relationships between cognitive distortions, self-compassion, and insomnia severity. Individuals were assessed using the Inventory of Cognitive Distortions (ICD), Self-Compassion Scale (SCS), and Insomnia Severity Index (ISI). Data were analyzed using a sample of 67 participants, ranging in age from 18 to 74. A simple linear regression analysis was conducted to test the hypothesis that cognitive distortions would be predictive of insomnia severity. The results were not significant. A multiple regression analysis was used to test the hypothesis that the specific cognitive distortions of fortunetelling, labeling, and jumping to conclusions would be …

Insomnia, Race, And Mental Wellness, Debbie D. Hendley

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This phenomenological study examines the experiences of insomnia among sixteen Americans who are descendants of people who lived in the United States during chattel slavery. The investigation is guided by the following two central questions: Is the lived experience of insomnia among African Americans the same as the experience among non-Hispanic White Americans? In addition, what is the lived experience of sleep among African Americans and Non-Hispanic White Americans? Each participant met individually with the researcher and privately reflected on their experience with insomnia defined here as a condition in which individuals have difficulty initiating and maintaining sleep that furthermore …