Sleep in New Zealand children aged 7-9: Associations with ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and achievement in reading and mathematics

Abstract

Study Objectives: The aims were (1) to investigate differences by ethnicity and socioeconomic status (SES) in objective measures of sleep in children aged 7-9 years and (2) determine whether measures of sleep predict child achievement in reading or mathematics after controlling for ethnicity and SES. Methods: Four groups of parent-child dyads were recruited: Māori, low-SES schools (n = 18); Māori, high-SES schools (n = 17); New Zealand European, low-SES schools (n = 18); New Zealand European, high-SES schools (n = 17). Child sleep was measured by actigraphy. Parents and teachers reported child daytime sleepiness and behavior, and children completed a self-report of anxiety symptoms. Teachers also reported on child achievement in reading and mathematics. Results: Children from low-SES schools went to bed later on school nights (F[1,68] = 12.150, P =.001) and woke later (F[1,68] = 15.978, P