Application of the sleep disturbance scale for children (SDSC) in preschool age.
BACKGROUND
The Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children (SDSC) was originally validated on a sample of healthy children aged 6-16 years, investigating the occurrence of sleep disorders during the previous 6 months.


OBJECTIVE
The aim of this new study was to assess the psychometric properties of the SDSC in an Italian population of preschool children.


METHODS
The SDSC was distributed to the primary caregivers of children recruited via nurseries. Letters describing the study design and requesting the co-operation of the caregivers (parents) and co-signed by the investigators and by the head teacher were distributed with the questionnaire and collected by the teachers. Reliability analysis for evaluating internal consistency and item-total correlation coefficients, and factor analysis were performed.


RESULTS
During a 12-months study period, 601 questionnaires from healthy preschool age children (range 3-6 years) were collected. SDSC in preschool children showed a good level of internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha: 0.83) and six factors were derived from the factor analysis by using the principal component method of extraction and rotated with the varimax method: Parasomnias, Difficulty in initiating and maintaining sleep, Sleep disordered breathing, Disorders of excessive somnolence, Sleep hyperhydrosis and Non-restorative Sleep.


CONCLUSIONS
The statistical analysis, the internal consistency and the factor analysis support the use of SDSC as an evaluation tool even at preschool age. A different factorial structure from the original SDSC was found due to a different prevalence of the sleep disturbances in younger children, but with similar cut-off total SDSC score.
Paediatric Neurology Unit, Catholic University, Rome, Italy.
Domenico M
DM
Romeo
Oliviero
O
Bruni
Claudia
C
Brogna
Raffaele
R
Ferri
Carmen
C
Galluccio
Valentina
V
De Clemente
Monica
M
Di Jorio
Michela
M
Quintiliani
Daniela
D
Ricci
Eugenio
E
Mercuri
D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires