Screening for sleep reduction in adolescents through self-report: Development and validation of the sleep reduction screening questionnaire (SRSQ)

Background: Sleep reduction, resulting from insufficient or poor sleep, is a common phenomenon in adolescents. Due to its severe negative psychological and behavioral daytime consequences, it is important to have a short reliable and valid measure to assess symptoms of sleep reduction.
Objective: This study aims to validate the Sleep Reduction Screening Questionnaire (SRSQ) that can be used to screen for symptoms of sleep reduction in adolescents.
Methods: Various samples from the general and clinical populations were included in the study. The SRSQ is a nine-item questionnaire that is based on the longer, four dimensional Chronic Sleep Reduction Questionnaire (Meijer in J Sleep Res 17:395-405, doi:10.1111/j.1365-2869.2008.00677.x, 2008). Items were selected on the basis of principal components analysis, item-total correlations, and substantive consideration. The SRSQ was validated by calculating correlations with self-reported and objective sleep and self-reported daytime functioning. Cut-off scores were determined so that the SRSQ can be used as a screening instrument.
Results: Internal consistencies of the SRSQ were good (Cronbach’s alpha = .79 in the general population). Correlations with self-reported sleep, daytime functioning and objective sleep variables were satisfactory and in the expected directions. The SRSQ discriminates well between clinical and non-clinical cases. When accounting for prevalence of sleep reduction symptoms in the general population, the area under the curve was .91, sensitivity was .80 and specificity was .87.
Conclusions: The SRSQ appears to be a short reliable and valid questionnaire. Due to the limited number of items and the availability of cut-off scores, it is a practical tool for clinical and research purposes.