Sleep in Children With Disruptive Behavioral Disorders

This study compared sleep in patients with Conduct Disorder/Oppositional Defiant Disorder (CD/ODD) and normative children and evaluated the associations between sleep and behavioral symptoms in patients. Participants were 30 patients, aged 7 to 12 years, with diagnoses of CD/ODD and their age and gender matched controls. Patients with CD/ODD and their parents reported significantly more sleep problems than did the control children and their parents (p values < 0.01). By actigraphy, CD/ODD children with comorbid ADHD slept significantly less than did the patients with CD/ODD alone and the controls. In patients, low sleep amount and efficiency associated with increased amount of parent-reported externalizing symptoms (r = -0.72, 0.66, p values < 0.001). Results highlight the need of evaluating sleep in children with CD/ODD. Improving their sleep may ease their symptoms.