Background: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impairments in social functioning, as well as repetitive and restrictive interests and behaviors. It is...Show moreBackground: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impairments in social functioning, as well as repetitive and restrictive interests and behaviors. It is diagnosed based on symptom expression. An ASD diagnosis can influence different aspects of the life of an individual, such as eating and sleeping habits. It may also influence the lives of the people close to the diagnosed individual, especially when diagnosed in children. So far, little is known about how ASD symptom expression influences eating and sleeping patterns in five- year-old children as well as their parent’s parental stress levels. Aim: The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the relationship between ASD symptoms, eating and sleeping problems in five-year-old children, and parental stress. Methods: This thesis used online questionnaires filled out by parents of five-year-old children (n = 4588, Mean age = 5.1, SD = .46) to conduct three multiple regression models. Results: The findings supported the hypotheses (H1) that ASD symptom severity is associated with more problematic eating habits in five-year-old children; (H2) that ASD symptom severity is associated with more sleep problems in five-year-old children; (H3) that ASD symptom severity is associated with more parental stress in parents of five-year- old children. All results were reported with small effect sizes. Conclusion: ASD symptoms in five-year-old children had a small negative effect on eating and sleeping habits in children, and increased parental stress in their parents.Show less
Background. Sleep’s positive impact on children’s development, health and psychological well-being renders crucial the investigation of precipitating and perpetuating factors of sleep disturbances...Show moreBackground. Sleep’s positive impact on children’s development, health and psychological well-being renders crucial the investigation of precipitating and perpetuating factors of sleep disturbances to prevent or address them. Aim. This study examines whether sleep disturbances in 10-year-olds are associated with eating habits, physical activity and parental stress. Methods. A total of 349 participants took part in the current study (Mean age = 10.21 years, SD = 0.49, boys = 50.14%). A regression analysis was run using sleep disturbances as a dependent variable, eating habits, physical activity and parental stress as independent variables and sex, ethnicity and region as covariates. Results. Eating habits, physical activity and parental stress did not have any predictive value for sleep disturbances. Conclusion. We conclude that sleep disturbances in 10-year-old children are not associated with eating habits, physical activity and parental stress. These results contradicting previous findings might be partially explained by some limitations of our study, such as the low internal consistency of our questionnaires and the potentially biased view of parents filling in the questionnaires.Show less
