0956 ADOLESCENT SLEEP DISTURBANCE AMONG A COMMUNITY-BASED SCREEN: PREVALENCE AND CO-MORBIDITY RATES FROM THE SENSE STUDY

Abstract

Introduction: There is robust evidence of an association between sleep disturbance, anxiety, and depression in adolescence. However, more research is needed among community samples. The SENSE Study (Sleep and Education: learning New Skills Early) is a 5-year, multi-institutional randomized controlled trial investigating whether a 7-week, cognitive-behavioral and mindfulness-based sleep intervention can improve sleep, anxiety, and depression in adolescents. This project reports on the screening data, highlighting the prevalence and co-morbidity of sleep disturbance, anxiety, and depression among a community based sample of adolescents. Methods: Participants were 1,491adolescents (58% female; Mean Age =14.40, SD=1.13) recruited from 23 secondary schools across Melbourne, Australia. Participants completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) to assess sleep disturbances (PSQI scores >5), Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale (SCAS) to assess high anxiety (SCAS scores >32 males, >38 females), and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) to assess for elevated depressive symptoms (CES-D scores >16). Results: Screening data supported high co-morbid sleep, depression, and anxiety symptoms among adolescents within the community. Participants reported elevated scores on the PSQI (M= 6.05, SD=3.16), SCAS (M=30.11, 15.77), and CES-D (M=16.24, SD=10.10). Only 36% of the sample did not show any clinical symptoms, whereas 50%, 44%, and 30% students evidenced above threshold cut-off scores for sleep problems, depressive symptoms, and anxiety symptoms, respectively. The majority of adolescents who reported clinical symptoms scored above the cut-off ranges in more than one domain. Just 14% of students reported only sleep issues, 7% reported only depressive symptoms, and 3% reported only anxiety symptoms, whereas 20% of students reported sleep, depressive, and anxiety symptoms combined. Conclusion: Results provide converging evidence that sleep disturbance is a prevailing community issue, is common among adolescents, and is commonly co-morbid with anxiety and depressive symptoms. These findings have important implications for the design of adolescent sleep treatment; both clinical and community setting interventions need to consider anxiety- and depression-specific modules for the adolescent sleep improvement