Estimating child sleep from parent report of time in bed: development and evaluation of adjustment approaches.
OBJECTIVE
To develop and evaluate adjustment factors to convert parent-reported time in bed to an estimate of child sleep time consistent with objective measurement.


METHODS
A community sample of 217 children aged 4-9 years (mean age = 6.6 years) wore actigraph wristwatches to objectively measure sleep for 7 days while parents completed reports of child sleep each night. After examining the moderators of the discrepancy between parent reports and actigraphy, 3 adjustment factors were evaluated.


RESULTS
Parent report of child sleep overestimated nightly sleep duration by ∼24 min per night relative to actigraphy. Child age, gender, and sleep quality all had small or nonsignificant associations with correspondence between parent report and actigraph. Empirically derived adjustment factors significantly reduced the discrepancy between parent report and objective measurement.


CONCLUSIONS
Simple adjustment factors can enhance the correspondence and utility of parent reports of child sleep duration for clinical and research purposes.
Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Emory University School of Medicine/Grady Memorial Hospital, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Department of Pediatrics, University of Chicago, Department of Child, Youth and Family Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Louisville tnelson3@unl.edu.
Timothy D
TD
Nelson
Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Emory University School of Medicine/Grady Memorial Hospital, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Department of Pediatrics, University of Chicago, Department of Child, Youth and Family Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Louisville.
Alyssa
A
Lundahl
Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Emory University School of Medicine/Grady Memorial Hospital, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Department of Pediatrics, University of Chicago, Department of Child, Youth and Family Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of LouisvilleDepartment of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Emory University School of Medicine/Grady Memorial Hospital, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Department of Pediatrics, University of Chicago, Department of Child, Youth and Family Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Louisville.
Dennis L
DL
Molfese
Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Emory University School of Medicine/Grady Memorial Hospital, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Department of Pediatrics, University of Chicago, Department of Child, Youth and Family Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Louisville.
Rachel N
RN
Waford
Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Emory University School of Medicine/Grady Memorial Hospital, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Department of Pediatrics, University of Chicago, Department of Child, Youth and Family Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Louisville.
Adrienne
A
Roman
Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Emory University School of Medicine/Grady Memorial Hospital, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Department of Pediatrics, University of Chicago, Department of Child, Youth and Family Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Louisville.
David
D
Gozal
Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Emory University School of Medicine/Grady Memorial Hospital, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Department of Pediatrics, University of Chicago, Department of Child, Youth and Family Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Louisville.
Victoria J
VJ
Molfese
Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Emory University School of Medicine/Grady Memorial Hospital, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Department of Pediatrics, University of Chicago, Department of Child, Youth and Family Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Louisville.
Melissa C
MC
Ferguson
D056044:Actigraphy; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012737:Sex Factors; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology*
actigraphy; adjustment; child sleep; correspondence; parent report