Fabio Lucidi

Sleep habits and circadian preference in Italian children and adolescents

Sleep habits and circadian preference (morningness/eveningness, M/E) have been extensively analyzed in adolescents and young adults, while few studies were conducted on children and early adolescents. Aim of the present study was to investigate the developmental changes of circadian preference and to analyze its relationship with sleep habits, sleep problems and circadian preference in a large sample by means of a school‐based survey. One thousand seventy‐three participants (50.8% boys and 49.2% girls; mean age = 10.6; range = 8–14 years), recruited from four schools randomly extracted within the district of Rome, completed a modified version of School Sleep Habits Survey developed by Carskadon et al. The questionnaire included items about sleep habits during schooldays and weekends; a Sleepiness Scale; a Sleep–Wake Problems Behaviour Scale; a Morningness/Eveningness scale. The results show a consistent age‐related change in sleep habits, particularly in the weekends. The difference in sleep duration between schooldays and weekends increases linearly with age. No gender difference was observed in morningness/eveningness, while a significant linear increase in evening preference was found with increasing ages. M/E total scores correlated significantly with both self‐reported sleep/wake problems and daytime sleepiness indicating a higher prevalence of sleep complaints in evening‐type subjects. Overall, the present results support the existence of consistent age‐related changes in sleep habits and M/E dimension in the 8‐ to 14‐year age range.

Relationship Between Social Context, Self-Efficacy, Motivation, Academic Achievement, and Intention to Drop Out of High School: A Longitudinal Study

ABSTRACT. By means of a longitudinal design the authors sought to determine the role of students’ self-determined motivation in reducing the intention to drop out of high school over time, while taking into account the impact of academic performance and of socioeconomic status. The effects of students’ self-efficacy and perceived support from parents and teachers were examined. A total of 426 students of grades 9–13 completed self-report estimates and their official school grades were also taken into consideration. Results showed that the level of self-determined motivation in students, which was directly related to the perception of teachers’ autonomy support, was the best predictor of the intention to drop out of school. Self-efficacy had a significant impact both on self-determined motivation and academic performance.

Young novice driver subtypes: Relationship to driving violations, errors and lapses

The present study aimed to identify, in a large Italian sample of young, novice drivers, specific subtypes of drivers on the basis of combinations of self-reported personality traits (i.e., driving anger, anxiety, angry hostility, excitement-seeking, altruism, normlessness and driving locus of control) and to evaluate their high-risk driving behaviors not only in terms of traffic rule violations and risk-taking behaviors, but also in terms of driving errors and lapses as measured by the Manchester Driver Behavior Questionnaire. Participants were 1008 high school students between the ages of 18 and 23 years, with valid drivers licenses. On the basis of a cluster analysis of the personality variables, three easily interpretable driver subgroups were identified (risky drivers, worried drivers and careful drivers) that differed on self-reported accident involvement, attitudes toward traffic safety and risk perception, as well as on driving violations, errors, and lapses. The inclusion of internal and external driving locus of control, variables not previously considered in similar cluster studies, provided a relevant contribution to the final cluster solution. Further, the use of the Driving Behavior Questionnaire permitted the differentiation between deliberate deviations from safe driving practices and mistakes due to misjudgments or lapses in attention. This distinction was critical for understanding the behavior of each of the three identified subgroups of drivers, and for planning interventions to promote safe driving.

Method effects: The problem with negatively versus positively keyed items

Using confirmatory factor analyses, we examined method effects on Rosenbergs Self-Esteem Scale (RSES; Rosenberg, 1965) in a sample of older European adults. Nine hundred forty nine community-dwelling adults 60 years of age or older from 5 European countries completed the RSES as well as measures of depression and life satisfaction. The 2 models that had an acceptable fit with the data included method effects. The method effects were associated with both positively and negatively worded items. Method effects models were invariant across gender and age, but not across countries. Both depression and life satisfaction predicted method effects. Individuals with higher depression scores and lower life satisfaction scores were more likely to endorse negatively phrased items.

Variations in sleep mentation as a function of time of night

Mentation reports collected from sleep onset, Stage 2 and REM Stage awakenings, in the first part and in the second part of the night were analyzed both with systematic psycholinguistic and global measures. Results confirm the relationship between activation and the length of sleep mentation report shown by Antrobus. Length of the report increases with sleep time, but time does not modulate qualitative inter-stage differences. By partialling out the length of the report, many inter-stage differences disappeared; however significant differences remain in the global measure of bizarreness and in the psycholinguistic measure of visual imagery. These results cannot be explained entirely by differences in attention and memory and point to more basic differences in mental activity.

P300 amplitude in subjects with primary insomnia is modulated by their sleep quality

OBJECTIVE The hyperarousal hypothesis is evaluated while controlling the influence of the quality of sleep in the night preceding the evaluation. METHOD Eleven primary insomniacs and 11 healthy age matched controls participated to the study. Participants filled in 2 weeks of sleep logs and self-monitored their subjective tension the evening before and the morning after each night. Afterwards, subjects were called in to the Lab for a recording session of the P300 ERP (oddball paradigm) once after a night of bad sleep quality (N-) and once after a night of good sleep quality (N+). RESULTS The main result of the present study indicated that the P300 amplitude at Fz in insomniacs resulted higher following a N- and lower following a N+ with respect to controls. CONCLUSIONS This result suggests that cortical hyperarousal in primary insomniacs is not a stable individual characteristic, but is associated with the poor quality of their nocturnal sleep.

Rapid eye movements density as a measure of sleep need: REM density decreases linearly with the reduction of prior sleep duration

In the recovery nights from total and partial sleep deprivation there is a reduction of oculomotor activity during paradoxical sleep as compared to baseline nights. Aims of the present within-subjects study are to contribute in understanding the nature of the relationship between REM density and sleep need and to evaluate whether an inverse relationship exists between REM density and slow wave sleep (SWS) amount. Six healthy subjects were studied for 7 consecutive weeks with standard polysomnographic recordings. Variations in REM density were assessed in the recovery nights following a gradual sleep restriction, obtained by postponing the sleep onset time while maintaining the final awakening time constant. Results indicate that sleep curtailment decreases REM density in the ensuing recovery nights; the decrease is linearly related to the amount of sleep curtailment. The decrease in REM density parallels an increase in SWS, while no corresponding variation was found neither in the duration of paradoxical sleep nor in the latency of any other sleep stage. These results suggest that REM density could be used as a measure of sleep need.

Brain Function and Effects of Shift Work: Implications for Clinical Neuropharmacology

Night or shift work is to a relevant extent unavoidable, suits a growing preference for flexibility and is predicted to spread. However, a significant percentage of shift workers report discomfort or health problems and they often (15–20% of cases) move to different occupations. Apart from social implications, the issue has medical and scientific relevance, with evidence suggesting that the circadian rhythm phases are neither equivalent nor interchangeable with respect to function and performance. Shift work may affect the gastrointestinal and cardiovascular functions, alter the hormonal and sleepiness cycles, favor sleep disturbances of medical relevance, interfere with behavior and social life and increase the risk of accidents (e.g. road accidents). The implications for clinical (neuro)pharmacology are relevant and, in several instances, critical. Shift work can interfere with mechanisms regulating drug kinetics in peripheral compartments and action at selective brain sites, either directly or through effects on the gastrointestinal/hormonal cycles. In this paper, the relevant literature is reviewed and original data on the effects of shift work are reported. Basic and clinical research should take into account the possible effects on drug action of an active life and working schedule in inappropriate phases of the circadian cycles and the risk of inadequate drug dosing or inexpected abnormal action in subjects under long-term or chronic treatment. A scientific approach, action by the scientific community involved in pharmacological research and monitoring by the regulating agencies are advisable. Regulation may help reduce the medical and social impact and improve quality of life.

Psychometric properties of the Maslach Burnout Inventory for Human Services among Italian nurses: A test of alternative models

AIM The purpose of this study was to test the factor structure of an Italian version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory for Human Service employees. In addition we examined the reliability and construct validity of the scale. BACKGROUND There is increasing evidence that nurses are at risk of experiencing burnout. Despite the vast international use of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Service Survey, its factor structure and reliability are not beyond question. METHOD In a sample of nurses (N = 1613) six alternative factor models of the instrument were tested using confirmatory factor analysis. Furthermore, we examined the invariance of the pattern of factor loadings of the model that better fitted the data across gender groups. To test construct validity, participants completed four subscales of Symptoms Check List 90-R. Internal consistency was evaluated computing Cronbachs alpha estimates of the scales. The study was conducted in 2007 and 2008 in Italy. RESULTS The factor analysis provided support for a 20-item version identifying the three original dimensions. The model was found to be factorially invariant between men and women. Correlations between the latent MBI-HSS dimensions and distress variables were in line with theoretical predictions. Reliability was supported by acceptable Cronbachs alpha indexes. CONCLUSION The Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Service Survey has acceptable validity and reliability for measuring burnout among nurses, and can help healthcare managers to offer interventions to reduce burnout among nurses. Limitations of the study and suggestions for further research are highlighted.

Oculomotor changes are associated to daytime sleepiness in the multiple sleep latency test

Sleep onsets in the diurnal multiple sleep latency test (MSLT), following different sleep lengths of the preceding night sleep (8, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 h) and following the corresponding recovery nights, were considered for a study on changes of oculomotor activity during sleep onset. The study aimed to assess the individual time course in spontaneous blinks (SBs) and slow eye movements (SEMs) during the sleep onset period and also the relationship with sleep latencies in the MSLT. Group analyses compared oculomotor changes between conditions characterized by a different level of daytime sleepiness. The results show a clear inverse relation between the two oculomotor measures, with a linear SB decrease and quadratic SEM increase across the wake–sleep transition. A 150 s sample of SB and SEM activity at the start of MSLT trials correlates with individual subsequent sleep latency. Finally, mean changes in daytime sleepiness as measured by the MSLT are paralleled by coherent oculomotor changes, with a significant linear decrease of SB as sleepiness increases as a consequence of previous sleep reduction. Both individual and group results show that endogenous blinking is associated with moderate changes in daytime sleepiness.