Gregory, Alice M.; Eley, Thalia C.; O'Connor, Thomas G.; Rijsdijk, Fruhling V. and Plomin, Robert. 2005. Measured family influences on the association between sleep problems and anxiety in a large sample of pre-school aged twins. Personality and Individual Differences, 39, pp. 1337-1348. [Article]

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Abstract or Description

Research suggests that environmental influences are important on the association between sleep problems and anxiety in children. This study examines family influences on the association between sleep problems and anxiety in 6000+ twin pairs. Parents provided information on their twins’ anxiety and sleep problems at ages 3 and 4 years. The family influences maternal depression, life events, socio-economic status, family illness, and family disorganization, were examined using parent-report. Family disorganization and maternal depression showed the strongest correlations with sleepproblems (r = .20, .21, respectively) and with anxiety (r = .24, .28). Subsequent analyses indicated that family disorganization and maternal depression (examined individually) each accounted for approximately 30% of the association between sleep problems and anxiety (r = .18). The remaining association was mainly explained by environmental factors making children in the same family alike and genetic influences. This study specifies family influences that may be important in the association between sleep problems and anxiety and highlights areas of research that may be worth pursuing in order to further understand the childhood association between sleep problems and anxiety.

Item Type:	Article
Departments, Centres and Research Units:	Psychology
Dates:	Date Event 2005 Published
Item ID:	7287
Date Deposited:	05 Oct 2012 14:51
Last Modified:	30 Jun 2017 15:19
Peer Reviewed:	Yes, this version has been peer-reviewed.
URI:	https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/7287

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