Familial sleep and autism spectrum disorder: a pilot actigraphy study of sleep quality, quality of life and psychological distress
Open accessAbstract
Objectives: Sleep problems are common among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and can have a negative impact on the child’s behaviour and daytime functioning. The current pilot study examined objective measurements of child and parent sleep as factors associated with the stress, anxiety, depressive symptoms, social support and quality of life of parents of children with ASD. Methods: Participants were nine children with ASD and their parents (nine mothers and three fathers). Participants wore an actigraph for 7 consecutive days and nights. Measures of sleep habits and quality were used to ascertain child and parent sleep. Measures of parenting stress, anxiety, depressive symptoms, quality of life and social support were collated. Results: Results indicated the emergence of high parental stress, anxiety and depressive symptoms. Significant correlations were observed between parent depressive symptoms, and both subjective sleep quality and child sleep disruptions. Conclusions: The present study found that parental well-being is affected by child sleep problems.
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Left untreated, co-occurring neuropsychiatric conditions can have detrimental and potentially catastrophic impacts on ASD individuals and their families, including decreased quality of life, increased stress, hindered educational and employment opportunities, and increased risk of suicidality.
“Left untreated, these co-occuring conditions can have detrimental and potentially catastrophic impacts on ASD individuals and their families, such as decreased quality of life and increased stress, hindered educational and employment opportunities and increased risk of suicidality [12–21].”
From Pharmacological treatment in autism: a proposal for guidelines on common co-occurring psychiatric symptoms (2025) · cites this paper as [14]
Parents of children with ASD and sleep difficulties suffer a lower quality of life with heightened parent stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms than average.
“Parents of children with ASD and sleep difficulties suffer a lower quality of life with heightened parent stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms than average [14, 15].”
From Pharmacological treatment in autism: a proposal for guidelines on common co-occurring psychiatric symptoms (2025) · cites this paper as [14]
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Manter, M. A., Birtwell, K. B., Bath, J., Friedman, N. D. B., Keary, C. J., Neumeyer, A. M., Palumbo, M. L., Thom, R. P., Stonestreet, E., Brooks, H., et al. (2025) · BMC Medicine · doi:10.1186/s12916-024-03814-0 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
“Parents of children with ASD and sleep difficulties suffer a lower quality of life with heightened parent stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms than average [14, 15].”
Martinez-Cayuelas, E., Gavela-Pérez, T., Rodrigo-Moreno, M., Losada-Del Pozo, R., Moreno-Vinues, B., Garces, C., & Soriano-Guillén, L. (2024) · Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders · doi:10.1007/s10803-023-05934-7 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
- Authors
- Leader, G., Glynn, C., Kirkpatrick, B., Chen, J. L., O’Súilleabháin, P. S., & Mannion, A.
- Affiliations
- Ollscoil na Gaillimhe – University of Galway (IE)
- University of Ulster (GB)
- East China Normal University (CN)
- University of Limerick (IE)
- Corresponding author
- Leader, Geraldine
- Venue
- Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 2021-05-11
- Volume
- 39
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 261-271
- ISSN
- 0790-9667 (ISSN-L)
- 2051-6967
- OpenAlex
- W3163391414
- Cited by
- 21
- References
- 6
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 3
- FWCI
- 2.17
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Locations
- Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Ulster University Research Portal (Ulster University) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- Arrow@dit (Dublin Institute of Technology) (acceptedVersion)
- ARAN (University of Galway Research Repository) (Ollscoil na Gaillimhe – University of Galway) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- ARAN (University of Galway Research Repository) (Ollscoil na Gaillimhe – University of Galway) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- University of Galway Research Repository (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and related disorders
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Family and Disability Support Research
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
- Keywords
- autism spectrum disorder, sleep disorders, parental stress, parental anxiety, depressive symptoms, quality of life, social support, actigraphy, family impact of autism
- MeSH terms
- Autism Spectrum Disorder, Psychological Distress, Sleep Quality, Child, Humans, Pilot Projects, Quality of Life, Sleep, Sleep Wake Disorders, Actigraphy
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