Alien Registration- Gregory, Alice M. (Millinocket, Penobscot County)

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Editorial Perspective: Perils and Promise for Child and Adolescent Sleep and Associated Psychopathology during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

It is anticipated that the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic and associated societal response will have wide‐ranging impacts on youth development and mental health. Sleep is crucial for child and adolescent health and well‐being, and the potential for sleep problems to emerge or worsen during and following the pandemic is high. This may be particularly true for children and adolescents who are at heightened risk for the onset of sleep and mental health disturbances and for those whom developmental changes impacting sleep are rapidly occurring. Youth with preexisting psychopathologies (including anxiety and depression) and neurodevelopmental conditions (including attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorder) could be especially vulnerable to disturbed sleep during this period of change and uncertainty. It is thus imperative that sleep considerations be part of research and clinical initiatives aimed at understanding and mitigating the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic in children and adolescents. This article considers ways in which the pandemic may impact sleep, including research and clinical implications

Heritability of sleep and its disorders in childhood and adolescence

Purpose of Review: This review summarizes recent literature on the heritability of sleep and sleep disorders in childhood and adolescence. We also identify gaps in the literature and priorities for future research. Recent Findings: Findings indicate that age, measurement method, reporter and timing of sleep measurements can influence heritability estimates. Recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified differences in the heritability of sleep problems when ancestral differences are considered, but sample sizes are small compared to adult GWAS. Most studies focus on sleep variables in the full range rather than on disorder. Studies using objective measures of sleep typically comprised small samples. Summary: Current evidence demonstrates a wide range of heritability estimates across sleep phenotypes in childhood and adolescence, but research in larger samples, particularly using objective sleep measures and GWAS is needed. Further understanding of environmental mechanisms and the interaction between genes and environment is key for future research

Sleep problems in childhood: a longitudinal study of developmental change and association with behavioral problems

Objective: The objective of the study was to examine specificity, order of appearance, and developmental changes in the relationships between sleep problems and behavioral problems in children. Method: Four hundred ninety children were selected from a large-scale longitudinal study of children growing up in adoptive and nonadoptive (biological) families in Colorado. Parental ratings of children’s sleep and behavioral problems on the Child Behavior Checklist were obtained from ages 4 to 15 years. Results: Sleep problems decreased from age 4 years to mid-adolescence, but there was modest stability of individual differences across this age range (r = 0.29). Regression analyses indicated that sleep problems at age 4 predicted behavioral/emotional problems in mid-adolescence after accounting for child sex, adoptive status, and stability of behavioral/ emotional problems. Finally, the correlation between sleep problems and depression/anxiety increased significantly during this age period from r = 0.39 at age 4 years to r = 0.52 at mid-adolescence. Conclusions: Early sleep problems may forecast behavioral/emotional problems, and there may be important developmental change in the overlap between sleep problems and behavioral/emotional problems

Self‐reported sleep patterns and quality amongst adolescents: cross‐sectional and prospective associations with anxiety and depression

Background Sleep problems are common in adolescence, and frequently comorbid with both anxiety and depression. Research studies have suggested a bidirectional relationship between sleep and psychopathology, which includes evidence that sleep interventions can alleviate symptoms of anxiety and depression. However, little is known about the nature of sleep problems amongst adolescents with anxiety and depression, and whether specific sleeping difficulties are involved in the longitudinal relationship between sleep, anxiety and depression. Method The sample was derived from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), a population‐based, prospective, birth cohort study of children born in 1991–1992. Data were explored from a subset of participants who took part in a clinical assessment at age 15, on self‐report sleep patterns and quality, and diagnostic outcomes of anxiety and depression (N = 5,033). Subsequent diagnostic and symptom severity data on anxiety and depression at ages 17, 21 and 24 were also examined. Results Cross‐sectional and longitudinal analyses were conducted to explore the relationship between sleep problems, anxiety and depression. Results revealed that adolescents aged 15 with depression experience difficulties with both sleep patterns and sleep quality, whereas adolescents with anxiety only reported problems with sleep quality. A range of sleep variables at age 15 predicted the severity of anxiety and depression symptoms and the diagnoses of anxiety and depressive disorders at age 17, 21 and 24 years. Conclusions The results provide further insight into the nature of sleep problems amongst adolescents with anxiety and depression, and the prospective relationship between sleep disturbance and future psychopathology. These data suggest that targeting sleep difficulties during adolescence may have long‐term mental health benefits

Exploring the association between anxiety and conduct problems in a large sample of twins aged 2-4

Anxiety and conduct problems covary, yet studies have not explored the genetic and environmental origins of this association.We analyzed parent-reported anxiety and conduct problems in 6,783 pairs of twins at 2-, 3-, and 4-years of age. As anxiety and conduct problems were fairly stable across the three ages (average 1-year correlation was .53), ratings from all three were combined. The aggregate anxiety and conduct ratings correlated .33 for boys and .30 for girls. Bivariate genetic analyses indicated fairly low genetic correlations (.31 for boys, .16 for girls), and high shared environmental correlations (1.0 for boys and 0.99 for girls) between anxiety and conduct problems. Most of the phenotypic correlation was accounted for by shared environmental mediation (65% for boys and 94% for girls), indicating that many of the same family environmental factors are responsible for the development of both anxiety and conduct problems

Dysfunctional beliefs about sleep and insomnia symptoms in early adulthood: A twin and sibling study

This study examines the associations between dysfunctional belief about sleep (DBAS), its subtypes and insomnia symptoms and estimates the relative contribution of genetic and environmental influences to these variables and the associations between them. The data came from G1219, a twin/sibling study that comprises 862 individuals (aged 22–32 years, 34% male). The Insomnia Symptoms Questionnaire was used to measure insomnia symptoms and a 10‐item version of the Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes about Sleep Scale was used to assess DBAS. A higher DBAS score was associated with more insomnia symptoms. Overall DBAS showed a mainly non‐shared environmental influence (86%). The genetic correlation between overall DBAS and insomnia symptoms was large but not significant, the shared environmental correlation was very small, negative and not significant, whereas a moderate, significant overlap in the non‐shared environmental influences was evident (non‐shared environmental correlation = 0.32). For the association between the subscales of DBAS and insomnia symptoms no significant overlap for genetic (weak to strong associations) or shared environmental factors (very weak negative to strong associations) was indicated. Most of the non‐shared environmental influences on the four variables were significantly moderately correlated (non‐shared environmental correlation = 0.24–0.46). These findings help to deepen our understanding of cognitive theories of insomnia by dissecting one of its crucial elements and illuminating the factors involved in its association with insomnia symptoms

Polymorphisms in the circadian expressed genes PER3 and ARNTL2 are associated with diurnal preference and GNβ3 with sleep measures

Sleep and circadian rhythms are intrinsically linked, with several sleep traits, including sleep timing and duration, influenced by both sleep homeostasis and the circadian phase. Genetic variation in several circadian genes has been associated with diurnal preference (preference in timing of sleep), although there has been limited research on whether they are associated with other sleep measurements. We investigated whether these genetic variations were associated with diurnal preference (Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire) and various sleep measures, including: the global Pittsburgh Sleep Quality index score; sleep duration; and sleep latency and sleep quality. We genotyped 10 polymorphisms in genes with circadian expression in participants from the G1219 sample (n = 966), a British longitudinal population sample of young adults. We conducted linear regressions using dominant, additive and recessive models of inheritance to test for associations between these polymorphisms and the sleep measures. We found a significant association between diurnal preference and a polymorphism in period homologue 3 (PER3) (P < 0.005, recessive model) and a novel nominally significant association between diurnal preference and a polymorphism in aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator-like 2 (ARNTL2) (P < 0.05, additive model). We found that a polymorphism in guanine nucleotide binding protein beta 3 (GNβ3) was associated significantly with global sleep quality (P < 0.005, recessive model), and that a rare polymorphism in period homologue 2 (PER2) was associated significantly with both sleep duration and quality (P < 0.0005, recessive model). These findings suggest that genes with circadian expression may play a role in regulating both the circadian clock and sleep homeostasis, and highlight the importance of further studies aimed at dissecting the specific roles that circadian genes play in these two interrelated but unique behaviours

The association between bullying‐victimisation and sleep disturbances in adolescence: Evidence from a twin study

Bullying‐victimisation has been associated with sleep disturbances. This study investigated the degree to which subtypes of bullying‐victimisation in adolescence are linked with sleep disturbances. Genetic and environmental contributions underlying bullying‐victimisation and sleep disturbances were investigated. Participants (3,242–5,076 pairs) from a longitudinal community twin study reported on their bullying‐victimisation at the age of 14 years, and sleep quality and insomnia symptoms at age 16. Regression analyses were used, accounting for the role of individual and family factors. Structural equation twin model fitting was conducted. Bullying‐victimisation was modestly associated with sleep quality and insomnia symptoms (r = 0.22–0.23) and a similar strength of associations was found across bullying‐victimisation subtypes (r = 0.11–0.22). Bullying‐victimisation, sleep quality and insomnia symptoms were predominantly influenced by genes (25–59%) and non‐shared environments (40–62%). The association between bullying‐victimisation and sleep quality was explained by genetic and non‐shared environmental influences. For insomnia symptoms and sleep quality, the association with bullying‐victimisation was in part explained by a genetic overlap. Associations between bullying‐victimisation and sleep disturbances are not limited to specific aspects of bullying‐victimisation but appear to exist for all subtypes. These findings stimulate research questions regarding the mechanisms underlying these links. For example, could certain heritable traits, such as temperament, increase vulnerability to experiencing sleep disturbances and being bullied? Research on bullying and sleep should aim to take the role of genetic predisposition into account, while also noting that it is not the only causal influence. Understanding more about these pathways could strengthen the development of techniques to prevent these difficulties from occurring