Children’s Sleep Comic: development of a new diagnostic tool for children with sleep disorders

Abstract

BackgroundA solid diagnosis of sleep disorders in children should include both self-ratings and parent ratings. However, there are few standardized self-assessment instruments to meet this need. The Children’s Sleep Comic is an adapted version of the unpublished German questionnaire “Freiburger Kinderschlafcomic” and provides pictures for items and responses. Because the drawings were outdated and allowed only for qualitative analysis, we revised the comic, tested its applicability in a target sample, and suggest a procedure for quantitative analysis.MethodsAll items were updated and pictures were newly drawn. We used a sample of 201 children aged 5–10 years to test the applicability of the Children’s Sleep Comic in young children and to run a preliminary analysis.ResultsThe Children’s Sleep Comic comprises 37 items covering relevant aspects of sleep disorders in children. Application took on average 30 minutes. The procedure was well accepted by the children, as reflected by the absence of any dropouts. First comparisons with established questionnaires indicated moderate correlations.ConclusionThe Children’s Sleep Comic is appropriate for screening sleep behavior and sleep problems in children. The interactive procedure can foster a good relationship between the investigator and the child, and thus establish the basis for successful intervention if necessary.

Pediatric Sleep Tools: An Updated Literature Review

“…ROC analyses were performed in 11 studies (20.8%): ESS (52), AIS and SQI (5), JSQ (58,59), PSQ (108,109,112), CAS-15 (17), CSRQ (47), and Comics (138). Almost fulfilling all steps were: CAS-15 (Goldstein et al, 2012) and Comics (137,138).…”

“…Primarily the ICSD classification system was used to generate/ mimic items for the following new tools: the Pediatric Sleep CGIs (90), RLS (117), SDSC* (125), SNAKE (129), the Children's Sleep Comic (137), and YSIS (140). When tools were psychometrically evaluated and/or translated/modified such as the CSHQ or the SDSC the classification system upon which their original items were generated remains.…”

A new diagnostic tool for children with sleep disorders

“…Additionally, the discriminatory power of the response options in the Children's Sleep Comic was low. This could be because the items for the ISPS were selected based on theoretical considerations alone and individual response options were not weighted [27].…”

“…Previous results indicated its appropriateness for interviewing children with regards to their sleep behavior and sleep problems [27].…”

“…The self-report questionnaires for pediatric sleep disorders that are available are designed for children of at least 8 years of age [30]. Therefore, we developed the Children's Sleep Comic as a new diagnostic tool for children aged 5-10 years [27].…”