Are parental depressive symptoms related to the sleep quality and physical activity of their children with developmental disabilities?

Maryam M Abdullah; Ross D Neville; Joseph H Donnelly; Kimberley D Lakes

doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2021.104091

Are parental depressive symptoms related to the sleep quality and physical activity of their children with developmental disabilities?

Res Dev Disabil. 2021 Dec:119:104091. doi: 10.1016/j.ridd.2021.104091. Epub 2021 Oct 9.

Authors

Maryam M Abdullah¹, Ross D Neville², Joseph H Donnelly³, Kimberley D Lakes⁴

Affiliations

¹ Greater Good Science Center, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA; Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA; Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
² School of Public Health, Physiotherapy, and Sports Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
³ Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA; Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
⁴ Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, School of Medicine, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA. Electronic address: klakes@medsch.ucr.edu.

PMID: 34634581
DOI: 10.1016/j.ridd.2021.104091

Abstract

Background: Parenting young children with developmental disabilities presents unique opportunities and challenges. Parents can experience meaningful priority shifts in and appreciation for their lives, but they can also be at greater risk for diminished emotional health. Physiological child factors warrant further investigation as correlates for parent risk of or protection from depression.

Aim: This study examined the relations between parental depressive symptoms and the (1) sleep quality and (2) physical activity in their children with developmental disabilities adjusting for parent- and child-level factors.

Methods and procedures: Children and parents were recruited for participation in this study from a university-based neurodevelopmental clinic. Parents completed questionnaires about themselves including measures of depressive symptoms and about their children including measures of sleep quality and physical activity. Researchers administered developmental measures to the children and physicians completed children's diagnostic evaluations. Participants were 147 children (32 ± 4 months old) mostly with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their parents (mostly mothers). Factors associated with parent-reported depressive symptoms were analyzed with a generalized linear model.

Outcomes and results: An R²_deviance value of 43 % confirmed that there was a substantial, moderate-to-large sized, improvement in the proportion of variance explained by the final model when compared with a null, or intercept-only, model. Depressive symptoms were approximately two times higher for parents of children with above average sleep disturbances and one and half times higher for parents whose children engaged in above average physical activity.

Conclusion and implications: Our study demonstrates the importance of considering children's sleep and physical activity in supporting children's developmental disabilities because they may offer pathways to enhanced family resilience and well-being.

Keywords: Autism spectrum disorder; Developmental disabilities; Maternal depression; Parent mental health; Physical activity; Sleep quality.

MeSH terms

Autism Spectrum Disorder*
Child
Child, Preschool
Depression
Developmental Disabilities
Exercise
Family Health
Female
Humans
Parenting
Parents
Resilience, Psychological*
Sleep