Development and psychometric properties of an instrument to measure sleep behavior self-regulation in adolescent students

Heliyon. 2024 Mar 28;10(7):e28692. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e28692. eCollection 2024 Apr 15.

Abstract

Background: The prevalence of inadequate sleep among adolescents is a significant worry due to its potential to adversely affect their health and academic performance. Addressing this matter necessitates a comprehensive grasp of the underlying factors influencing sleep regulation and the formulation of evidence-based interventions to counteract its detrimental consequences. Hence, the central objective of this study is to create and assess a dependable questionnaire designed to evaluate adolescents' self-regulation of sleep behavior.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, data from 401 high school students randomly selected from west Iran were incorporated and subjected to psychometric assessments. The average age of the participants was 16.5 ± 0.92. Initially, 136 preliminary items were formulated, drawing from a contextual framework and comprehensive literature review. The subsequent steps involved specialized analyses, including content validity analysis, item analysis, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, as well as convergent validity analysis.

Results: Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses support a strong structural model, including factors like self-control, outcome expectation, goal setting, and self-efficacy, which are linked to regulating sleep behavior. The model fit was satisfactory. The instrument had 22 items which demonstrated good internal consistency, adequate test-retest reliability, and evidence of convergent validity.

Conclusion: In future studies exploring sleep behavior, the present questionnaire, which has demonstrated initial validity and reliability, holds the potential to provide valuable assistance in evaluating and enhancing self-regulation in sleep behavior, particularly within school environments.

Keywords: Adolescent; Health; Psychometric; Self-regulation; Sleep; Student.