Child and Family Characteristics Associated with Sleep Disturbance in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Little is known about the role of family characteristics in sleep disturbance for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study involved an exploratory analysis of the association between 17 child, parent, and socioeconomic characteristics and sleep disturbance using data from 203, 2-18-year-old children with ASD whose families participated in the Western Australian Autism Biological Registry. Results suggest that greater ASD symptom severity; child seizures; maternal autism traits, anxiety, and depression; lower paternal education; and lower family income were related to increased sleep disturbance. All these characteristics, aside from maternal depression, were significant predictors within a regression model, which accounted for 33% of the total variance. Thus, child characteristics alone may not adequately explain sleep disturbance in children with ASD.