Mental Health News: Researchers at University of Birmingham’s School of Psychology found association of early childhood sleep problems with psychosis and borderline personality disorder (BPD) in adolescence.
Researchers aimed to investigate the connection between infant sleep problems and mental disorders in adolescents. They collected data from more than 7000 participants reporting on psychotic symptoms in adolescence, and more than 6,000 reporting on BPD symptoms in adolescence. The data examined is from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children birth cohort. Parents reported the sleep behavior of children at 6, 18 and 30 months, and they were assessed again at 3.5, 4.8 and 5.8 years old.
Research results showed particular associations between infants at 18 months old who tended to wake more frequently at night and who had less regular sleep routines from 6 months old, with psychotic experiences in adolescence. The team also found that children who had less sleep during the night and went to bed later at the age of three-and-a-half years were related to BPD symptoms.
The findings suggest that specific sleep problems among babies and very young children are differentially associated with later psychopathologic symptoms. The study findings have important implications in design of more personalized interventions in psychosis and BPD.
To Know More, You May Refer To:
Morales-Muñoz, I., Broome, M. R., & Marwaha, S. (2020). Association of parent-reported sleep problems in early childhood with psychotic and borderline personality disorder symptoms in adolescence. JAMA Psychiatry, 77(12), 1256. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2020.1875
