Tomasiello Melina, Martin-Storey Alexa, Déry Michèle, Latimer Eric, Temcheff Caroline E
Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
Département de Psychoéducation, Université de Sherbrooke, Longueuil, Québec, Canada.
Child Psychiatry Hum Dev. 2025 Jul 22. doi: 10.1007/s10578-025-01879-3.
Childhood conduct problems are associated with high medical service use in adolescence, though the mechanisms are unclear. The current study examined whether sleep and internalizing problems mediate the association between childhood conduct problems and adolescent medical service usage. Participants were drawn from a longitudinal study (N = 744; 53% boys) evaluating the development of conduct problems among girls and boys (6.3-9.9 years at baseline; Mage = 8.43). Conduct problems, sleep, and internalizing problems were assessed by parents, teachers, and youth. Service use data was collected from public medical records. Significant indirect effects between childhood conduct problems and medical service usage via parent-reported sleep and internalizing problems were observed. Histories of conduct problems were associated with higher levels of sleep and internalizing difficulties which were subsequently linked to higher service usage. Findings support the importance of addressing sleep and internalizing problems in mitigating future health consequences for youth with conduct problems.
儿童期行为问题与青少年时期较高的医疗服务使用率相关，尽管其中的机制尚不清楚。本研究调查了睡眠问题和内化问题是否介导了儿童期行为问题与青少年医疗服务使用之间的关联。参与者来自一项纵向研究（N = 744；53%为男孩），该研究评估了男孩和女孩行为问题的发展情况（基线时年龄为6.3 - 9.9岁；平均年龄 = 8.43岁）。行为问题、睡眠问题和内化问题由父母、教师和青少年进行评估。服务使用数据从公共医疗记录中收集。通过父母报告的睡眠问题和内化问题，观察到儿童期行为问题与医疗服务使用之间存在显著的间接影响。行为问题史与更高水平的睡眠问题和内化困难相关，而这些问题随后又与更高的服务使用率相关。研究结果支持了在减轻有行为问题的青少年未来健康后果方面，解决睡眠问题和内化问题的重要性。
