title: Sleep mediates the link between resiliency and behavioural problems in children at high and low risk for alcoholism.
abstract: Children of alcoholic parents are at greater risk for developing substance use problems. Having a parent with any mental illness increases the risk for sleep disorders in children. Using actigraphy, this study characterized sleep in children of alcoholics and community controls over a period of 1 week. This study further examined whether sleep characteristics of the children mediated the relationship between self-regulation indices (i.e. undercontrol and resiliency) and outcome measures of function (e.g. problem behaviours and perceived conflict at home). Eighty-two children (53 boys, 29 girls, 7.2-13.0 years old) were recruited from the ongoing Michigan Longitudinal Study. Seventeen participants had no parental history of alcohol abuse or dependence family history negative (FH-), 43 had at least one parent who was a recovered alcoholic, and 22 had at least one parent who met diagnostic criteria within the past 3 years. Sleep was assessed with actigraphy and sleep diaries for 1 week, and combined with secondary analysis of data collected for the longitudinal study. FH- children had more objectively measured total sleep time. More total sleep time was associated with greater resiliency and behavioural control, fewer teacher-reported behavioural problems, and less child-reported conflict at home. Further, total sleep time partially mediated the relationship between resiliency and perceived conflict, and between resiliency and externalizing problems. These findings suggest that in high-risk homes, the opportunity to obtain sufficient sleep is reduced, and that insufficient sleep further exacerbates the effects of impaired dispositional self-regulatory capacity on behavioural and emotional regulation.
authors: School of Behavioral Sciences, Academic College of Tel Aviv - Jaffa, Jaffa, Israel.
authors: Ilana S
authors: IS
authors: Hairston
authors: School of Behavioral Sciences, Academic College of Tel Aviv - Jaffa, Jaffa, Israel.
authors: Deirdre A
authors: DA
authors: Conroy
authors: School of Behavioral Sciences, Academic College of Tel Aviv - Jaffa, Jaffa, Israel.
authors: Mary M
authors: MM
authors: Heitzeg
authors: School of Behavioral Sciences, Academic College of Tel Aviv - Jaffa, Jaffa, Israel.
authors: Nasreen Z
authors: NZ
authors: Akbar
authors: School of Behavioral Sciences, Academic College of Tel Aviv - Jaffa, Jaffa, Israel.
authors: Kirk J
authors: KJ
authors: Brower
authors: School of Behavioral Sciences, Academic College of Tel Aviv - Jaffa, Jaffa, Israel.
authors: Robert A
authors: RA
authors: Zucker
mesh_terms: D056044:Actigraphy; D000293:Adolescent; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008824:Michigan; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D000066553:Problem Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D055500:Resilience, Psychological; D012306:Risk; D057566:Self Report; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology*; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology
keywords: actigraphy; externalizing behaviors; resiliency; undercontrol