title: Biased processing of sleep-related stimuli in children of parents with insomnia.
abstract: Disorder-specific cognitive biases have been observed in children whose parents suffer from psychological disorders. Despite those same biases being observed in individuals with insomnia, they have yet to be explored as an index of vulnerability in children of parents with insomnia. It was hypothesized that potentially vulnerable children would demonstrate cognitive biases to sleep-related cues, relative to controls. Following a "tired-state induction," a sleep-related Emotional Stroop was completed by 2 groups: 38 children of parents with insomnia and 51 controls. Children also reported their observations about the content of the Stroop words. Results showed an attention bias in children whose parents have insomnia, but no interpretive bias. The results are discussed in terms of a predispositional vulnerability to insomnia.
authors.affiliation: Northumbria Center for Sleep Research, School of Life Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England. jason.ellis@northumbria.ac.uk
authors.forename: Jason G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Ellis
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Thomson
authors.forename: Alice M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Gregory
authors.forename: Annette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sterr
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001143:Arousal; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D002668:Child Rearing / Q000523:psychology*; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D011287:Prejudice; D007319:Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult