📝 What is it?

The DSM-5 Level 2 Sleep Disturbance, Child (DSM-5 II Sle-C) measures sleep quality in children/adolescents.

It is most often used to monitor a client's sleep quality week over week. Some clinicians use it weekly and some use it biweekly.

It contains 8 quick questions with a 5-point Likert scale and typically takes 1-2 minutes to complete.

📸 Sample screenshot:

😴 What is a sleep disturbance?

Sleep disturbances is a group of conditions that prevent people from sleeping well on a regular basis. They may affect the quality, timing, or duration of sleep and also the ability to function properly when the person is awake.
Sleep is a vital and basic human need. It is very important to physical and mental health. It can impact mood, attention, school performance, memory, decision making and a lack of sleep may lead to risky behavior and accidents or injuries.
Many people do not get enough sleep! The CDC found that the majority of children/adolescents don't get enough sleep! (Source) Children/adolescents need 8-10 hours.
A child/adolescent who doesn't get enough sleep may act out or perform poorly in school. They may even display symptoms similar to ADHD-- moody and hyperactive.
There are normal sleep disturbances. Common ones for children/teens are nightmares, sleep talking or sleep walking. More serious, diagnosable sleep disorders include narcolepsy, sleep apnea, or insomnia.
Sleep disturbances causes could be physical (back pain), mental (depression), environmental (light and noise), drugs (prescription, alcohol, or caffeine), and even genetics or aging.
There are many things people can do to improve sleep. Children/adolescents may benefit from 1. having a consistent sleep schedule (don't oversleep on weekends) and 2. limit technology use at night and in the bedroom. Psychotherapy and medication can also help.
For more info about sleep, check out this informative article from The Cleveland Clinic.

📉 Scoring:

The DSM-5 Level 2 Sleep Disturbance, Child contains 8 questions scored on a 5-point Likert scale from 1-5. Four of the questions are forward-scored and the other four are reverse-scored. Total scores range from 8 to 40. Higher scores are associated with greater severity of sleep disturbance.

When administered on Blueprint, the sum score is placed into a quartile ("low", "mild", "moderate", and "high") for easier interpretation of raw scores; however this scoring and interpretation model is for practical use, is not validated as formal clinical cut-off scores, and should not be used to determine diagnosis eligibility.

💡 Best practices:

Sleep is important for every client no matter their issue or diagnosis-- especially children/adolescents! So tracking sleep quality could be helpful for any client. It is especially important for clients who struggle with their sleep or for clients with conditions that may cause sleep issues such as depression.

Tracking sleep could be informative in two different ways. 1. Trouble sleeping may exacerbate other client issues/conditions or 2. Client issues/conditions may negatively impact sleep. Either way, this is valuable information.

ℹ️ Summary:

Focus Area: Sleep
Overview: The DSM-5 Level 2—Sleep Disturbance—Child Age 11–17 looks at a child or adolescents issues with sleep disturbance. It is helpful in tracking sleep disturbance symptoms over time.
Total number of items: 8
Administration: Self-report
Standardized cadence: Weekly
Estimated completion time: 2-4 minutes
Supported subscales: None
Age range: 11-17
Scoring and interpretation: Answers are scored on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 for "Never" to 5 for "Always." Scores are summed and total scores range from 8 to 40. Higher scores are associated with higher levels of sleep disturbance.
Reliability/Validity: The measure appeared to be more precise than two other popular sleep measures, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) despite having fewer total items.
Additional information:
Original research article: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3261577/