The Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ): psychometric properties of a survey instrument for school-aged children.
OBJECTIVE
To present psychometric data on a comprehensive, parent-report sleep screening instrument designed for school-aged children, the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ). The CSHQ yields both a total score and eight subscale scores, reflecting key sleep domains that encompass the major medical and behavioral sleep disorders in this age group.


METHODS
Cross-sectional survey.


METHODS
Three elementary schools in New England, a pediatric sleep disorders clinic in a children's teaching hospital.


METHODS
Parents of 469 school-aged children, aged 4 through 10 years (community sample), and parents of 154 patients diagnosed with sleep disorders in a pediatric sleep clinic completed the CSHQ.


METHODS
N/A.


RESULTS
The CSHQ showed adequate internal consistency for both the community sample (p=0.68) and the clinical sample (p=0.78); alpha coefficients for the various subscales of the CSHQ ranged from 0.36 (Parasomnias) to 0.70 (Bedtime Resistance) for the community sample, and from 0.56 (Parasomnias) to 0.93 (Sleep-Disordered Breathing) for the sleep clinic group. Test-retest reliability was acceptable (range 0.62 to 0.79). CSHQ individual items, as well as the subscale and total scores were able to consistently differentiate the community group from the sleep-disordered group, demonstrating validity. A cut-off total CSHQ score of 41 generated by analysis of the Receiver Operator Characteristic Curve (ROC) correctly yielded a sensitivity of 0.80 and specificity of 0.72.


CONCLUSIONS
The CSHQ appears to be a useful sleep screening instrument to identify both behaviorally based and medically-based sleep problems in school-aged children.
Owens
J A
JA
Division of Pediatric Ambulatory Medicine, Rhode Island Hospital, Brown University School of Medicine, Providence 02903, USA. JOwens@Lifespan.org
Spirito
A
A
McGuinn
M
M
D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology*; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires