Abstract

KLEIN, John M.  and  GONCALVES, Alda. Sleep-wake problems in children: A study about prevalence. PsicoUSF [online]. 2008, vol.13, n.1, pp. 51-58. ISSN 1413-8271.

Recent studies demonstrated that sleep disturbances are among the most common complaints throughout childhood. Changes in the sleep patterns have negative effects in the neuropsychological functioning, who affects the children's mental well being. The present paper aims to evaluate the sleep habits and estimate the prevalence of sleep disturbances in the Portuguese school-aged children of two regions: Faro and Braga. A total of 938 elementary school students, of which 485 were girls (52%), aged between 7 and 11 years (M=8,74 ± SD=0,989) were used for this study. The results indicate that 56,4% of the children's sleeps more than 9 hors during the night and; 18,6% has sleep disturbances. The results will be discussed regarding the linkage between the presence of sleep psychopathology in infancy and the development of psychopathology in adulthood. Further the importance of this questionnaire for sleep related problems studies so as the epidemiological data gathered with it will be discussed in terms of their relevance for research and clinical practice in Portugal, in order to acknowledge the clinicians and educational agents for such problems.

Keywords : Sleep; Epidemiology; School-aged children.

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