Development of a short version of the Dysfunctional Beliefs about Sleep questionnaire for use with Children (DBAS-C10)

Dysfunctional beliefs about sleep (DBAS) contribute to sleep problems. There is urgent need to develop a questionnaire addressing these beliefs in children. We aimed to develop and assess the psychometric properties of a short version of the DBAS for use with children (DBAS-C10) and validate measure, based on the 10 item adult DBAS version. Data were collected in 134 year 6/7 students [mean (SD) age = 12.73 y (.09y)] who completed the DBASC-10 twice, either before and after a sleep education intervention (n=91) or before and after curriculum as usual (n=43). The factor structure from the adult version (DBAS -10) was used: (1) Beliefs about the immediate negative consequences of insomnia; (2) Beliefs about the long-term negative consequences of insomnia; (3) Need to control the insomnia. Results suggested that the internal consistency was moderate (0 .71, subscale range .51-.78) and the test retest reliability (when the questionnaire was completed 5-7 weeks apart) suggested consistency of responses. The questionnaire showed small sensitivity to change post intervention. This scale has acceptable psychometric properties and could be used to investigate dysfunctional beliefs in children and potentially detect changes in sleep related cognitions in children in treatment interventions.