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Sleep Disturbances and Associated Factors in Chinese Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Retrospective and Cross-Sectional Study

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Abstract

Sleep disturbances in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exist worldwide, but little is known about this issue in non-Western cultures. This study aimed to characterize sleep disturbances in Chinese children with ASD and to examine associated sociodemographic factors and emotional/behavioral problems. Parents of 60 Chinese children with ASD (aged 6–17 years) from Shenzhen, China completed the Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ), and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Sleep disturbances were severe and common, with rates of 70.0 % for overall disturbances and 15.0 % (daytime sleepiness) to 40.0 % (sleep duration) for specific domains. The severity and rate of sleep disturbances were higher compared to previous studies in typically developing children from the same region of China and American children with ASD, respectively. Further, there were significant correlations between most CSHQ and SDQ domains. Female gender, older parental age, higher hyperactivity, and poorer prosocial behavior were associated with increased overall sleep disturbances.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the lovely children and their parents who participate in this study. We also thank Liqing Shi (Shezhen Yuanping School for Children with Special Needs, China) and Hangyan Mo (East China Normal University, China) for their help with data collection and entry. This study was supported by the Scholarship for Studying Abroad from China Scholarship Council (201306140090), and the Distinguished Young Academics Fund from East China Normal University (xrzz2013009) awarded to Guanghai Wang.

Conflict of interest

None of the authors have competing interests related to this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, Pediatric Translational Medicine Institution, Shanghai Children’s Medical Center, Shanghai, 200127, China

    Guanghai Wang & Fan Jiang

  2. School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200062, China

    Guanghai Wang & Guangxing Xu

  3. Children’s National Medical Center, 111 Michigan Avenue NW, Washington, DC, USA

    Guanghai Wang, Allison Baylor & Judith Owens

  4. School of Management, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, 563003, China

    Zhijun Liu

  5. Research and Counseling Center of Applied Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China

    Ning Lu

Authors
  1. Guanghai Wang
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  2. Zhijun Liu
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  3. Guangxing Xu
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  4. Fan Jiang
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  5. Ning Lu
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  6. Allison Baylor
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  7. Judith Owens
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Guanghai Wang, Guangxing Xu or Fan Jiang.

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Wang, G., Liu, Z., Xu, G. et al. Sleep Disturbances and Associated Factors in Chinese Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Retrospective and Cross-Sectional Study. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 47, 248–258 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-015-0561-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-015-0561-z

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