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. 2025 Jun;28(2):439-457.
doi: 10.1007/s10567-025-00526-6. Epub 2025 May 21.

Measures of Sleep-Related Fears in Children: A Systematic Review of Psychometric Properties Using COSMIN

Melissa Aji  1   2 , Xiaomin Xu  3   4 , Emma A McDermott  3 , Madeline Metz  5 , Annabel Songco  3   4 , Maddison O'Gradey-Lee  3   4 , Chloe Y S Lim  3   4 , Gemma Sicouri  3   4   6 , Laura Parrish  3 , Jennifer L Hudson  3   4   6
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Measures of Sleep-Related Fears in Children: A Systematic Review of Psychometric Properties Using COSMIN

Melissa Aji et al. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev. 2025 Jun.

Abstract

Sleep-related fears (i.e. fears related to sleep, nighttime and/or occurring before sleep) are linked to the development of anxiety and sleep problems in children. Parent- and child-report measurement tools are key to increasing understanding and facilitating better identification for treatment to prevent disorder development. We conducted a systematic review with the aim of identifying the breadth of parent- and child-report measures that include an assessment of sleep-related fears in children from 7 to 12 years old (stage 1) and reviewing the psychometric properties of measures that more comprehensively assess sleep-related fears (i.e. 3 or more items) using the COSMIN checklist (stage 2) to provide recommendations for measures (stage 3). A systematic search was performed using MEDLINE, EMBASE, ERIC and PsycINFO in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. At stage 1, we retrieved 14,495 records. Of these, 66 papers met eligibility and included 43 distinct measures. At stage 2, 11 out of the 43 measures met criteria for more comprehensive measurement of sleep-related fears. Findings demonstrated mixed and incomplete data and very little high-quality evidence. No measures met criteria for recommendation and the majority of measures require further validation studies.

Keywords: Anxiety; COSMIN; Children; Measures; Review; Sleep.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Ethical approval: This is a systematic review reporting on existing research studies and therefore, ethical approval was not required.

Figures

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Fig. 1
PRISMA Flow Diagram
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