Assessment of sleep disorders and proposed percentiles for adolescents.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study included: a) to develop a valid and reliable self-reporting instrument to assess sleep disorders among Chilean adolescent students and b) to develop percentiles for age and sex. METHODOLOGY: This was a descriptive, crosssectional study in 2310 adolescent students conducted in the Maule Region, Chile. The sleep disorder self-report was developed considering five categories: duration, alterations, breathing problems, fatigue, and stimulant use. The instrument was validated using a confirmatory factor analysis. Reliability was assessed based on internal consistency. Percentiles were developed using the LMS method (L: lambda, asymmetry; M: mu, median; S: sigma, coefficient of variation). RESULTS: Questions 3, 9, and 12 showed saturation values below 0.40, while the rest had saturation values above 0.41. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of adequacy was 0.749 and the test of sphericity X2 was 4790.09; the percentage of variance accounted for 62.1 %. Cronbach's alpha ranged between 0.71 and 0.76. CONCLUSION: The self-report developed to measure sleep disorders in adolescents is valid and reliable for its use in health, education, and sports science programs. Percentiles should be used to identify normal patterns and/or sleep disorders by sex and age.