Sommers Lucy, Papadopoulos Nicole, Fuller-Tyszkiewicz Matthew, Sciberras Emma, McGillivray Jane, Howlin Patricia, Rinehart Nicole
School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, 1 Gheringhap Street, Geelong, VIC, 3220, Australia.
School of Psychology, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Hwy, Burwood, VIC, 3125, Australia.
J Autism Dev Disord. 2025 Apr;55(4):1159-1171. doi: 10.1007/s10803-024-06298-2. Epub 2024 Mar 25.
The interactions between sleep problems, autism symptoms and emotional and behavioural difficulties were explored using network analysis in 240 autistic children (mean age: 8.8 years, range 5-13 years) with moderate to severe sleep problems. Findings revealed a highly connected and interpretable network, with three separate clusters identified of the modelled variables. Depression, anxiety and behavioural difficulties were the most central variables of the network. Depression, anxiety and restricted repetitive and stereotyped patterns behaviours (RRBs) were the strongest bridging variables in the network model, transmitting activation both within and between other symptom clusters. The results highlight that depression and anxiety were highly connected symptoms within the network, suggesting support in these areas could be helpful, as well as future research.
在240名患有中度至重度睡眠问题的自闭症儿童（平均年龄：8.8岁，范围5 - 13岁）中，运用网络分析探究了睡眠问题、自闭症症状以及情绪和行为困难之间的相互作用。研究结果揭示了一个高度关联且可解释的网络，在所建模的变量中识别出三个独立的聚类。抑郁、焦虑和行为困难是该网络中最核心的变量。抑郁、焦虑和局限的重复刻板行为（RRBs）是网络模型中最强的桥梁变量，在其他症状聚类内部和之间传递激活。结果突出表明，抑郁和焦虑是网络中高度关联的症状，这表明在这些领域提供支持可能会有所帮助，同时也为未来研究提供了方向。
