Findings on Sleep of Children with Cerebral Palsy and Their Mothers' Sleep and Emotional Intelligence

Abstract

Objective: This study was aimed to (i) sleep characteristics of children with cerebral palsy (CP), and sleep and emotional intelligence results of their mothers, and (ii) explore the relationship these parameters both with each other and with demographic characteristics of children and their mothers. Methods: Thirty-three children with CP and their mothers were included this study. Functional level of children was evaluated with Gross Motor Function Classification Scale (GMFCS) while sleep parameters with Child Sleep Habits Questionnaire-Abbreviated Form (CSHQ-AF). Sleep quality and emotional intelligence of mothers was evaluated by The Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Revised Schutte Emotional Intelligence Scale (RSEI), successively. Results: The highest percentage of children with CP participating in the study was at level 3 (GMFCS) with 24.24%. Mean sleep score of children with CP according to CSHQ-AF was 50.33 (SD: 9.38) points. Twenty-nine (87.9%) of children with CP had pediatric sleep problem while 51.5% of mothers had poor sleep quality. RSEI total score of mothers was 149.54 (SD: 16.94). No relationship was found between sleep and emotional intelligence of mothers with sleep of children with CP (p>0.05). Conclusion: The rate of sleep problems was found to be higher in children with CP compared to their mothers as expected. The lack of relationship between sleep and emotional intelligence can be explained by the reality that both parameters can be affected by many factors.