Monitoring for sleep-related threat: a pilot study of the Sleep Associated Monitoring Index (SAMI).
OBJECTIVE
The aims of this pilot study were: 1) to establish the reliability and validity of a new self-report instrument designed to index monitoring for sleep-related threat; 2) to determine the presence of ten monitoring types proposed in a recent cognitive model of insomnia and to examine the relationship between monitoring for sleep-related threat and severity of sleep disturbance; and 3) to explore the association between monitoring and the established constructs of amplification and self-focus.


METHODS
Participants (N = 400) completed the Sleep Associated Monitoring Index (SAMI) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) (1). Based on the PSQI score, the sample was split into two groups to compare normal sleepers (NS) and individuals with a clinically significant sleep disturbance (CSSD). A subset of the sample completed the SAMI and a battery of questionnaires to examine convergent validity between monitoring, amplification, and self-focus.


RESULTS
Individuals in the CSSD group had higher SAMI scores than the NS group and the SAMI correlated positively with severity of sleep disturbance as indexed by the PSQI. A principal components analysis extracted 8 components accounting for 69% of the variance. The 30-item SAMI demonstrated high validity, consistency, and reliability. Scores on the SAMI were moderately positively correlated with scores on measures of amplification and self-focus.


CONCLUSIONS
Preliminary evidence suggests that the SAMI offers a valid and reliable instrument to index monitoring before and after treatment for sleep disturbance. The implications for the presence of monitoring for sleep-related threat in chronic insomnia are discussed.
Semler
Christina Neitzert
CN
Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, England.
Harvey
Allison G
AG
D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D003071:Cognition; D003463:Cues; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D007319:Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires