title: Sleep hygiene and sleep quality in Italian and American adolescents.
abstract: This study investigated cross-cultural differences in adolescent sleep hygiene and sleep quality. Participants were 1348 students (655 males; 693 females) aged 12-17 years from public school systems in Rome, Italy (n = 776) and Southern Mississippi (n = 572). Participants completed the Adolescent Sleep-Wake Scale and the Adolescent Sleep Hygiene Scale. Reported sleep hygiene and sleep quality were significantly better for Italian than American adolescents. A moderate linear relationship was observed between sleep hygiene and sleep quality in both samples (Italians: R =.40; Americans: R =.46). Separate hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed that sleep hygiene accounted for significant variance in sleep quality, even after controlling for demographic and health variables (Italians: R(2) =.38; Americans: R(2) =.44). The results of this study suggest that there are cultural differences in sleep quality and sleep hygiene practices, and that sleep hygiene practices are importantly related to adolescent sleep quality.
authors.affiliation: E.P. Bradley Hospital/Brown Medical School, Sleep and Chronobiology Research Laboratory, 300 Duncan Drive, Providence, RI 02906, USA. monique_lebourgeois@brown.edu
authors.forename: Monique K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: LeBourgeois
authors.forename: Flavia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Giannotti
authors.forename: Flavia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cortesi
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wolfson
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Harsh
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000293:Adolescent; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006184:Habits; D006801:Humans; D006920:Hygiene; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D012647:Self-Assessment; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology*; D012892:Sleep Deprivation / Q000453:epidemiology; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology