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The impact of sleep quality on quality of life for autistic adults
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

The impact of sleep quality on quality of life for autistic adults

Kiley J. McLean, Shaun M. Eack and Lauren Bishop
Research in autism spectrum disorders, v 88, 101849
01 Oct 2021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2021.101849
PMID: 34539812
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
url
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2021.101849View
Published, Version of Record (VoR) Restricted

Abstract

Education & Educational Research Education, Special Life Sciences & Biomedicine Psychology, Developmental Rehabilitation Science & Technology Psychiatry Psychology Social Sciences
Background: Although research demonstrates that autistic children are at risk of poor sleep quality, very little is known about sleep quality and its impact on quality of life in autistic adults. We investigated the relationships between sleep quality, perceived stress, and quality of life for autistic adults. Method: Data were prospectively collected from both autistic adults (N = 40) and non-autistic adults (N = 24). Sleep Quality was measured using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Perceived Stress was measured using the Perceived Stress Scale, and Quality of Life was measured using the Brief Version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale. We ran OLS regression models to examine the association between study group, perceived stress, sleep quality, and quality of life. We tested for main effects of study group (i.e., autistic or non-autistic), sleep quality, and perceived stress, adjusting for demographic characteristics. Then, we tested the interaction between study group and sleep quality. Finally, we tested a three-way interaction between group, sleep quality, and perceived stress. Results: Autistic adults reported worse sleep quality compared to non-autistic adults. Poorer sleep quality was significantly associated with lower quality of life for all participants in the study. Findings from the three-way interaction indicated that higher perceived stress further exacerbated the relationship between poorer sleep quality and lower quality of life for autistic adults. Conclusions: These findings suggest that interventions that target both sleep quality and stress could effectively improve quality of life for autistic adults.

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3 Record Views
15 citations in Web of Science
16 citations in Scopus

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#3 Good Health and Well-Being

InCites Highlights

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Education, Special
Psychiatry
Psychology, Developmental
Rehabilitation
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