Sleep Problems in Adolescence Linked to Future Mental Health Issues: Study Urges Targeted Intervention

Sleep problems have been shown to have a significant impact on youth mental health, both in terms of the emergence and exacerbation of internalizing and externalizing symptoms. The study aimed to investigate individual changes in sleep issue profiles and their predicted relationships with psychopathology symptoms as children progress into adolescence.

The study involved 10,313 individuals aged 9 to 11 years at baseline and followed up at ages 11 to 13 years from the multicenter Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. The participants were assessed for a range of sleep problems using the Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children (SDSC), and their psychopathology symptoms were assessed using the internalizing and externalizing dimension scores derived from the parent-reported Child Behavior Checklist.

The study concluded with the following key takeaways:

1. The study found that the participants could be categorized into four latent profiles of sleep problems: a low disturbance profile, a sleep onset/maintenance problems profile, a moderate and nonspecific disturbance profile (termed mixed disturbance), and a high disturbance profile.
2. Individuals in the three more severe problem profiles displayed a greater risk of concurrent internalizing and externalizing symptoms.
3. Transitions between sleep profiles over time were associated with prospective internalizing and externalizing symptoms, indicating that changes in sleep problems across the transition to adolescence are associated with later internalizing and externalizing symptoms.

The study suggests that sleep profiles could be targeted in future intervention and treatment programs to improve sleep-related and mental health–related outcomes across development. The findings have important implications for mental health practitioners, as sleep problems may be a potential risk factor for psychopathology symptoms during adolescence.

"Our study highlights the importance of sleep for mental health and suggests that targeting sleep problems in early adolescence may be a key strategy for preventing later mental health problems." said the Lead author of the study Dr. Rebecca Cooper.

Reference:

Cooper R, Di Biase MA, Bei B, Quach J, Cropley V. Associations of Changes in Sleep and Emotional and Behavioral Problems From Late Childhood to Early Adolescence. JAMA Psychiatry. Published online April 05, 2023. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2023.0379