A BRIEF MOTIVATIONAL INTERVIEWING INTERVENTION (SIESTA) FOR ADOLESCENT SLEEP : EFFECTS ON NEUROCOGNITION AND SLEEP-RELATED BEHAVIOR

Abstract

Several studies have described sleep characteristics of adolescents, concluding that adolescent sleep lacks duration, quality, and consistency. Due to behavioral, environmental and biological changes, adolescents tend to prefer to stay up late and demonstrate considerable difficulty awakening in the morning for school. Study 1 of this dissertation examined sleep characteristics, demographics, and egocentrism in a large sample (N = 521) of adolescents from a middle and high school in a low-SES ethnically diverse school district. Minorities and individuals of low SES are particularly vulnerable to health disparities, with limited research efforts focused towards exploration of sleep habits in youth that are linked to overall health and mortality as adults Due to the wide range of negative consequences, including poor academic performance, increase risk of accidents, and increased risk of mental and physical health concerns, associated with inadequate sleep among adolescents, intervention has been an important focus of psychologists. Study 2 of this dissertation focused on the development of a 4-week, small group intervention (School-based Intervention to Establish Sleep Skills Tailored to Adolescents (SIESTA)) incorporating principles of cognitive behavioral therapy and motivational interviewing. Additionally, this approach targeted volunteers to participate rather than making the intervention mandatory, in contrast to prior interventions. Overall, very few of the eligible participants volunteered to participate (N = 12). However, these intervention participants showed a significant improvement in daytime sleepiness and increase in school-night sleep duration. They also demonstrated a significant improvement in reaction time and processing speed after the intervention. There was a large, positive correlation between estimated intelligence and increase in sleep duration across the intervention. While the findings of these studies are promising, future research involving randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that examine academic and health outcomes are vital before the feasibility of dissemination across schools is examined.