Family and sleep habits in children with a family history of ADHD
The first results of our ADHD study have recently been published in the journal Behavioral Sleep Medicine. In this study, we were interested in family functioning and sleep habits in young children from families with a diagnosis of ADHD. Read on to find out more.
Two hundred and eleven families took part in this online study - 72 of which had a diagnosis of ADHD in their family. Parents completed questionnaires about their family, their child’s sleep habits, and their child’s temperament.
We found that children under 3 years from families with a history of ADHD (i.e. a parent or older sibling had an ADHD diagnosis) had poorer sleep quality and sleep quantity than children with no family history of ADHD. That is, their parents reported these children to spend fewer hours sleeping at night and to have more frequent night wakings. For children aged 3-6 years, parents reported no differences in sleep habits in children with and without a family history of ADHD.
Overall, parents from families with a diagnosis of ADHD reported greater family difficulties, fewer strengths, and poorer communication than families without an ADHD diagnosis.
We also wanted to examine whether family functioning and sleep habits were related to certain aspects of a child’s temperament. Previously, other researchers have found that high levels of negative affect (feelings such as fear, anger, irritability) and low levels of effortful control (the ability to manage attention and inhibit certain behaviours) in early development may be associated with later ADHD symptoms. In our study, we found that positive family functioning predicted higher levels of effortful control. We also found that poorer sleep quality (i.e. less hours spent in sleep at night) predicted higher negative affect levels.
More research is required to investigate this link between early temperament, sleep, and family functioning. Developing interventions which target high negative affect and low effortful control in early childhood might help to reduce symptoms of ADHD in later life.
We are grateful to all the families that took the time to take part in this research! Keep an eye out for more results from our ADHD studies!
Article: Keating J, Bramham J, McNicholas F, Carr A, Hasshim N, & Downes M. (2020) An Exploration of Sleep and Family Factors in Young Children at Familial Risk for ADHD. Behavioral Sleep Medicine, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/15402002.2020.1862119
