0328 The Associations Between Self-Reported Symptoms of Sleep Disorders, Objective Sleep Patterns and Affect in Adolescence

Abstract

Introduction Developmental changes in adolescence make adolescents prone to experiencing negative mood and increased emotional lability. Experimental studies employing sleep restriction paradigms have shown that decreased sleep increased negative affect, but a gap exists regarding the association between sleep disorders and negative affect in adolescence. The objective of this study was to examine this association. It was hypothesized that higher levels of reported symptoms of sleep disorders would be associated with lower positive affect and higher negative affect in adolescents. Methods Participants: 101 adolescents (65 females) aged between 13 and 18 years old (M=14.69, SD=1.16). Measures: Sleep Disorders Inventory for Students was used to measure symptoms of sleep disorders and sleep patterns were measured objectively using actigraphy. Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) was used to measure positive and negative affect. Results Correlational analyses were conducted to assess the relationship between symptoms of sleep disorders, sleep patterns, and positive and negative affect. Higher levels of reported symptoms of sleep disorders were associated with later bedtimes (r= .26, p< .01), shorter sleep durations (r= -.20, p< .05), increased sleep onset latency (r= .21, p< .05), decreased sleep efficiency (r= -.23, p< .05), and less immobile minutes (r= -.23, p< .05) measured by actigraphy. Higher levels of reported symptoms of sleep disorders were associated with lower levels of positive affect (r= -.20, p< .05) and higher levels of negative affect (r= .39, p< .001) Conclusion Reported symptoms of sleep disorders were associated with overall poorer sleep patterns in adolescents as well as decreased positive affect and increased negative affect. Sleep specialists assisting adolescents with sleep disorders should inquire about mood regulation. Support Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council