ABSTRACT

Objective: The aim of the current study was to examine relations between sleep problems and family factors and early markers of ADHD in young children with and without a familial risk for ADHD.

Methods: Differences in sleep behavior and family functioning in children under 6 years with (n = 72) and without (n = 139) a familial risk for ADHD were investigated. The influence of family and sleep factors on the development of early temperament markers of ADHD (effortful control and negative affect) was explored. Parents/caregivers completed questionnaires on family functioning, child sleep behavior, and general regulatory behaviors.

Results: A significant difference was observed between high-risk and low-risk groups for family functioning in the infant/toddler (<3 years) and preschool (>3 years) cohorts. Parents of infants/toddlers in the high-risk group reported poorer infant sleep. However, there were no sleep differences reported for the preschool cohort. Family functioning was found to predict effortful control, while sleep quality predicted negative affect.

Conclusion: The results of this study highlight potential family and sleep issues for young children with a familial history of ADHD and the potential influence of these factors on early temperament markers of ADHD. Future research should explore these relations further in order to better establish whether early sleep and family interventions could mitigate later ADHD symptomatology.

摘要

目的：本研究的目的是检查睡眠问题与家庭因素和 ADHD 早期标志物之间的关系，这些儿童有或没有 ADHD 家族风险。

方法：研究了有 (n = 72) 和没有 (n = 139) 家族性多动症风险的 6 岁以下儿童的睡眠行为和家庭功能的差异。探讨了家庭和睡眠因素对 ADHD 早期气质标志物（努力控制和负面情绪）发展的影响。父母/照顾者完成了关于家庭功能、儿童睡眠行为和一般调节行为的问卷。

结果：在婴儿/幼儿（<3 岁）和学龄前（>3 岁）队列中，家庭功能的高危组和低危组之间存在显着差异。高危组婴儿/学步儿童的父母报告婴儿睡眠较差。然而，学龄前队列没有报告睡眠差异。发现家庭功能可预测努力控制，而睡眠质量可预测负面影响。

结论：这项研究的结果突出了有 ADHD 家族史的幼儿的潜在家庭和睡眠问题，以及这些因素对 ADHD 早期气质标志物的潜在影响。未来的研究应该进一步探索这些关系，以更好地确定早期睡眠和家庭干预是否可以减轻后期的 ADHD 症状。