title: Sleep disturbance and its relation to DSM-IV psychiatric symptoms in preschool-age children with pervasive developmental disorder and community controls.
abstract: This study describes the relation between sleep problems and psychiatric symptoms in preschool-age children (3 to 5 years old) with pervasive developmental disorder and a community-based sample of children attending early childhood programs. Parents completed the Early Childhood Inventory-4, a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (fourth edition)-referenced rating scale for 2 samples: children with pervasive developmental disorder (n = 112) and nondisabled youngsters (n = 497). Although children with pervasive developmental disorder had a significantly greater number and severity of sleep problems than the community preschoolers did, sleep-disturbed children in both samples exhibited more severe behavioral difficulties-primarily symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and oppositional defiant disorder-than did children without sleep problems. Sleep problems are an indicator of similar comorbid psychiatric symptoms in both children with and without pervasive developmental disorder, which suggests commonalities in their etiology.
authors.affiliation: Cody Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities, Department of Pediatrics, State University of New York at Stony Brook 11794-8788, USA. carla.devincent@sunysb.edu
authors.forename: Carla J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: DeVincent
authors.forename: Kenneth D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Gadow
authors.forename: Danielle
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Delosh
authors.forename: Lynda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Geller
mesh_terms: D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003156:Community Mental Health Services; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires