Abstract
Sleep disturbance is prevalent in caregivers and associated with negative physical, mental, and functional outcomes. This study examined the effects of sleep disturbance on daytime functions (sleepiness, fatigue, mood, cognitive alertness), care-related quality of life, and daily parenting interactions in 20 mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder for 10 consecutive days using ecological momentary assessment design. Participants responded about daytime functions four times and care-related quality of life and daily parenting interactions once using an online survey. Sleep disturbance was significantly related to all daytime functions and frustration with childcare. Therefore, development of sleep hygiene interventions is warranted to effectively reduce the impact of sleep disturbance and enable these mothers to better tackle daily physical and mental challenges.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed., Text Revision). American Psychiatric Association
Arber, S., Bote, M., & Meadows, R. (2009). Gender and socio-economic patterning of self-reported sleep problems in Britain. Social Science & Medicine (1982), 68(2), 281–289. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2008.10.016
Bar, M., Efron, M., Gothelf, D., & Kushnir, J. (2016). The link between parent and child sleep disturbances in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Sleep Medicine, 21, 160–164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2015.11.015
Bass, B. L., Butler, A. B., Grzywacz, J. G., & Linney, K. D. (2009). Do Job Demands Undermine Parenting? A Daily Analysis of Spillover and Crossover Effects. Family Relations, 58(2), 201–215. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3729.2008.00547.x
Bastien, C. H., Vallières, A., & Morin, C. M. (2001). Validation of the Insomnia Severity Index as an outcome measure for insomnia research. Sleep Medicine, 2(4), 297–307. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1389-9457(00)00065-4
Bourke-Taylor, H., Pallant, J. F., Law, M., & Howie, L. (2013). Relationships between sleep disruptions, health and care responsibilities among mothers of school-aged children with disabilities. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, 49(9), 775–782. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpc.12254
Brouwer, W. B. F., van Exel, N. J. A., van Gorp, B., & Redekop, W. K. (2006). The CarerQol instrument: A new instrument to measure care-related quality of life of informal caregivers for use in economic evaluations. Quality of Life Research: An International Journal of Quality of Life Aspects of Treatment, Care and Rehabilitation, 15(6), 1005–1021. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-005-5994-6
Buysse, D. J., Reynolds, C. F., Monk, T. H., Berman, S. R., & Kupfer, D. J. (1989). The Pittsburgh sleep quality index: A new instrument for psychiatric practice and research. Psychiatry Research, 28(2), 193–213. https://doi.org/10.1016/0165-1781(89)90047-4
Buysse, D. J., Thompson, W., Scott, J., Franzen, P. L., Germain, A., Hall, M. L. … Kupfer, D. J. (2007). Daytime Symptoms in Primary Insomnia: A Prospective Analysis Using Ecological Momentary Assessment. Sleep Medicine, 8(3), 198–208. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2006.10.006
Chary, M., McQuillan, M. E., Bates, J. E., & Deater-Deckard, K. (2020). Maternal Executive Function and Sleep Interact in the Prediction of Negative Parenting. Behavioral Sleep Medicine, 18(2), 203–216. https://doi.org/10.1080/15402002.2018.1549042
da Estrela, C., Barker, E. T., Lantagne, S., & Gouin, J. P. (2018). Chronic parenting stress and mood reactivity: The role of sleep quality. Stress and Health: Journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress, 34(2), 296–305. https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.2790
Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.).American Psychiatric Association
Drent, M., Lower, E. E., & Vries, J. D. (2012). Sarcoidosis-associated fatigue. European Respiratory Journal, 40(1), 255–263. https://doi.org/10.1183/09031936.00002512
Etindele Sosso, F. A., Holmes, S. D., & Weinstein, A. A. (2021). Influence of socioeconomic status on objective sleep measurement: A systematic review and meta-analysis of actigraphy studies. Sleep Health, 7(4), 417–428. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleh.2021.05.005
Giallo, R., Wade, C., Cooklin, A., & Rose, N. (2011). Assessment of maternal fatigue and depression in the postpartum period: Support for two separate constructs. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 29(1), 69–80. https://doi.org/10.1080/02646838.2010.513050
Giallo, R., Wood, C. E., Jellett, R., & Porter, R. (2013). Fatigue, wellbeing and parental self-efficacy in mothers of children with an autism spectrum disorder. Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice, 17(4), 465–480. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361311416830
Gruet, M. (2018). Fatigue in Chronic Respiratory Diseases: Theoretical Framework and Implications for Real-Life Performance and Rehabilitation. Frontiers in Physiology, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2018.01285
Heron, K. E., & Smyth, J. M. (2010). Ecological momentary interventions: Incorporating mobile technology into psychosocial and health behavior treatments. British Journal of Health Psychology, 15(Pt 1), 1–39. https://doi.org/10.1348/135910709X466063
Hoefman, R. J., van Exel, N. J. A., Foets, M., & Brouwer, W. B. F. (2011). Sustained informal care: The feasibility, construct validity and test-retest reliability of the CarerQol-instrument to measure the impact of informal care in long-term care. Aging & Mental Health, 15(8), 1018–1027. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2011.575351
Hoefman, R., Payakachat, N., van Exel, J., Kuhlthau, K., Kovacs, E., Pyne, J., & Tilford, J. M. (2014). Caring for a child with autism spectrum disorder and parents’ quality of life: Application of the CarerQol. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 44(8), 1933–1945. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-014-2066-1
Jellett, R., Wood, C. E., Giallo, R., & Seymour, M. (2015). Family functioning and behaviour problems in children with autism spectrum disorders: The mediating role of parent mental health: Family functioning and autism spectrum disorders. Clinical Psychologist, 19(1), 39–48. https://doi.org/10.1111/cp.12047
Johnson, C. R., Turner, K. S., Foldes, E. L., Malow, B. A., & Wiggs, L. (2012). Comparison of sleep questionnaires in the assessment of sleep disturbances in children with autism spectrum disorders. Sleep Medicine, 13(7), 795–801. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2012.03.005
Karthikeyan, R., Cardinali, D. P., Shakunthala, V., Spence, D. W., Brown, G. M., & Pandi-Perumal, S. R. (2020). Understanding the role of sleep and its disturbances in autism spectrum disorder. The International Journal of Neuroscience, 130(10), 1033–1046. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207454.2019.1711377
Keilty, K., Cohen, E., Spalding, K., Pullenayegum, E., & Stremler, R. (2018). Sleep disturbance in family caregivers of children who depend on medical technology. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 103(2), 137–142. https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2016-312205
Kouros, C. D., & El-Sheikh, M. (2017). Within-family relations in objective sleep duration, quality, and schedule. Child Development, 88(6), 1983–2000. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12667
Leader, G., Glynn, C., Kirkpatrick, B., Chen, J. L., O’Súilleabháin, P. S., & Mannion, A. (2021). Familial sleep and autism spectrum disorder: A pilot actigraphy study of sleep quality, quality of life and psychological distress. Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1017/ipm.2021.24
Levin, A., & Scher, A. (2016). Sleep problems in young children with autism spectrum disorders: A study of parenting stress, mothers’ sleep-related cognitions, and bedtime behaviors. CNS Neuroscience & Therapeutics, 22(11), 921–927. https://doi.org/10.1111/cns.12651
Maenner, M. J., Shaw, K. A., Bakian, A. V., Bilder, D. A., Durkin, M. S., Esler, A. … Cogswell, M. E. (2021). Prevalence and Characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorder Among Children Aged 8 Years—Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, 11 Sites, United States, 2018. 70(11), 20
Matthews, E. E., Neu, M., Cook, P. F., & King, N. (2014). Sleep in mother and child dyads during treatment for pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Oncology Nursing Forum, 41(6), 599–610. https://doi.org/10.1188/14.ONF.41-06P
McCann, D., Bull, R., & Winzenberg, T. (2015). Sleep deprivation in parents caring for children with complex needs at home: A mixed methods systematic review. Journal of Family Nursing, 21(1), 86–118. https://doi.org/10.1177/1074840714562026
McCurry, S. M., Song, Y., & Martin, J. L. (2015). Sleep in caregivers: What we know and what we need to learn. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 28(6), 497–503. https://doi.org/10.1097/YCO.0000000000000205
Meltzer, L. J., & Mindell, J. A. (2006). Impact of a child’s chronic illness on maternal sleep and daytime functioning. Archives of Internal Medicine, 166(16), 1749–1755. https://doi.org/10.1001/archinte.166.16.1749
Miadich, S. A., Everhart, R. S., Heron, K. E., & Cobb, C. O. (2018). Medication use, sleep, and caregiver smoking status among urban children with asthma. The Journal of Asthma: Official Journal of the Association for the Care of Asthma, 55(6), 588–595. https://doi.org/10.1080/02770903.2017.1350969
Michielsen, H. J., De Vries, J., & Van Heck, G. L. (2003). Psychometric qualities of a brief self-rated fatigue measure: The Fatigue Assessment Scale. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 54(4), 345–352. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-3999(02)00392-6
Mihaila, I., & Hartley, S. L. (2018). Parental sleep quality and behavior problems of children with autism. Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice, 22(3), 236–244. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361316673570
Mörelius, E., & Hemmingsson, H. (2014). Parents of children with physical disabilities—Perceived health in parents related to the child’s sleep problems and need for attention at night. Child: Care, Health and Development, 40(3), 412–418. https://doi.org/10.1111/cch.12079
O’brien, R. M. (2007). A caution regarding rules of thumb for variance inflation factors. Quality & Quantity, 41(5), 673–690. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-006-9018-6
Orta, O. R., Barbosa, C., Velez, J. C., Gelaye, B., Chen, X., Stoner, L., & Williams, M. A. (2016). Associations of self-reported and objectively measured sleep disturbances with depression among primary caregivers of children with disabilities. Nature and Science of Sleep, 8, 181–188. https://doi.org/10.2147/NSS.S104338
Shiffman, S., Stone, A. A., & Hufford, M. R. (2008). Ecological momentary assessment. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 4, 1–32
Song, Y., Washington, D. L., Yano, E. M., McCurry, S. M., Fung, C. H., Dzierzewski, J. M. … Martin, J. L. (2018). Caregiving-related sleep problems and their relationship to mental health and daytime function in female veterans. Behavioral Sleep Medicine, 16(4), 371–379. https://doi.org/10.1080/15402002.2016.1228640
Tilford, J. M., Payakachat, N., Kuhlthau, K., Pyne, J. M., Kovacs, E., Bellando, J. … Frye, R. E. (2015). Treatment for sleep problems in children with autism and caregiver spillover effects. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 45(11), 3613–3623. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-015-2507-5
de Vries, J., Michielsen, H., Heck, G. L. V., & Drent, M. (2004). Measuring fatigue in sarcoidosis: The Fatigue Assessment Scale (FAS). British Journal of Health Psychology, 9(3), 279–291. https://doi.org/10.1348/1359107041557048
Whitmore, K. E. (2016). Respite care and stress among caregivers of children with autism spectrum disorder: An integrative review. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 31(6), 630–652. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedn.2016.07.009
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lee, M.H., Min, A., Park, C. et al. How Do Sleep Disturbances Relate to Daytime Functions, Care-related Quality of Life, and Parenting Interactions in Mothers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder?. J Autism Dev Disord 53, 2764–2772 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-022-05532-z
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-022-05532-z