Sleep and Developmental Psychopathology: Introduction to the Special Issue

Abstract

Research in the field of pediatric sleep has grown significantly in the past 25 years. However, because much remains to be learned about the complex and dynamic relationship between sleep and developmental psychopathology, this special issue of the Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology was created to provide an influx of cutting-edge research on this important topic. This introduction provides an overview of the special issue, with articles focusing on what different measurement approaches tells us about the intersection of sleep and developmental psychopathology; the overlap between interventions for sleep and anxiety; sleep as a potential mechanism for the development of social, emotional, and behavioral problems; and how population-based studies can be used to consider the interaction between sleep, well-being, and symptoms of psychopathology.