Assessing sleep-wake complaints in school-aged children: portuguese properties and norms of the SWEL

Abstract

The present paper aims to analyze psychometric features of the Portuguese Sleep Wake Experience List (SWEL), to obtain norms and data about key sleep complaints for children. This questionnaire evaluates chronic sleep problems categorizing them into six categories of sleep complaints. A total of 900 elementary school students (2nd to 4th grade), 485 girls (53.9%) and 415 boys (46.1%), aged between 7 and 10 years (M = 8.63; SD = .82) were included in this study. The results indicated a good reliability and validity of the questionnaire, making him suitable as a screening tool for epidemiological purposes. The study shows that sleep complaints (14.7%) are a frequent syndrome in school-aged children, and often not reported to the parents and/or physician. In conclusion, the results revealed that the SWEL is a reliable and valid screening instrument for identifying potential sleep problems in Portuguese school-aged children population.

The Impact Of Sleep Quality On Academic Performance In Children In The 1st Cycle

“…Changes in sleep patterns have hostile effects on neuropsychological functioning, which is reflected in children's physical, psychological and emotional well-being. Lack of sleep in children is related to impaired neurocognitive functioning and increased maladjusted behaviors (Klein & Gonçalves, 2008). The answer to this question is: "To what extent does the quality of sleep influence the academic performance of children attending the 1st cycle?…”

Qualidade do sono e depressão: que relações sintomáticas em crianças de idade escolar

“…Esta ficha tem como objectivo central possibilitar o acesso a dados pessoais e a características sóciodemográficas dos participantes, de modo a permitir a caracterização da amostra no que se refere a idade, sexo, nacionalidade, nível sócio-económico, ano de escolaridade e rendimento académico. Sono-Vigília (Van Diest, 1999) Foi usada a versão portuguesa desta escala (Klein, Fernandes & Gonçalves, 2005a), a qual revelou boas características psicométricas. Este questionário é uma medida padronizada da qualidade do sono e da vigília, muito usada na investigação epidemiológica.…”