The Effects of a Parental Intervention on Electronic Media Exposure and Sleep Patterns in Adolescents
Condition: Sleep
Study type: Interventional
Phase: Phase 4

Summary: 
      Amongst adolescents, there is a gap that widens with age between recommended sleep duration
      and actual sleep time. Due to this gap, bodily and mental functions such as those related to
      the metabolic and immune systems, performance, memory, school achievement and creative
      ability can be harmed. Moreover, lack of sleep involves an increased risk of accidents and
      injuries, behavior problems and reduced quality of life.

      Biological factors that explain changes in sleep patterns include delays in the circadian
      timing system and in the homeostatic system that regulate sleep and wakefulness. These
      changes cause a growing and continuous delay in sleep phase during adolescence. In addition,
      a number of environmental factors affect sleep patterns: variables such as early school start
      time, increased homework assignments, after-school activities, lack of parental demand for
      adequate sleep hours, and increased "screen time," or use of electronic media, including
      television, computer games, internet and cellular phones.

      Based on the Parental Style model, the authoritative parenting style is characterized by
      parents setting high demands on their children on the one hand and displaying high levels of
      responsiveness to their children on the other. The authoritarian parenting style is
      characterized by parents setting high demands on their children on the one hand yet
      displaying low levels of responsiveness to their children on the other. The permissive
      parenting style is characterized by parents setting low demands on their children and
      displaying high levels of responsiveness to their children. In several investigations, the
      authoritative parenting style has been shown to have a positive influence on child
      development, academic achievement and psychosocial competency, and promoted healthy behaviors
      in adolescents, such as good eating habits, increased physical activity and a decrease in
      risky behaviors such as smoking, alcohol abuse, extreme diets and early sexual behavior.

      The Conceptual Model views parents as the sole agents of change in their children's life, and
      focuses on the power of personal example, environmental changes and promotion of the
      authoritative parental style. The main aim of this research is to evaluate the effectiveness
      of an intervention program that deals with increasing parents' awareness of the changes that
      characterize adolescents and encourages the authoritative parental style based on the
      Parenting Style Model.
    

Detailed description: 
      Amongst adolescents, there is a gap that widens with age between recommended sleep duration
      and actual sleep time. Due to this gap, bodily and mental functions such as those related to
      the metabolic and immune systems, performance, memory, school achievement and creative
      ability can be harmed. Moreover, lack of sleep involves an increased risk of accidents and
      injuries, behavior problems and reduced quality of life.

      Biological factors that explain changes in sleep patterns include delays in the circadian
      timing system and in the homeostatic system that regulate sleep and wakefulness. These
      changes cause a growing and continuous delay in sleep phase during adolescence. In addition,
      a number of environmental factors affect sleep patterns: variables such as early school start
      time, increased homework assignments, after-school activities, lack of parental demand for
      adequate sleep hours, and increased "screen time," or use of electronic media, including
      television, computer games, internet and cellular phones.

      Based on the Parental Style model, the authoritative parenting style is characterized by
      parents setting high demands on their children on the one hand and displaying high levels of
      responsiveness to their children on the other. The authoritarian parenting style is
      characterized by parents setting high demands on their children on the one hand yet
      displaying low levels of responsiveness to their children on the other. The permissive
      parenting style is characterized by parents setting low demands on their children and
      displaying high levels of responsiveness to their children. In several investigations, the
      authoritative parenting style has been shown to have a positive influence on child
      development, academic achievement and psychosocial competency, and promoted healthy behaviors
      in adolescents, such as good eating habits, increased physical activity and a decrease in
      risky behaviors such as smoking, alcohol abuse, extreme diets and early sexual behavior.

      The Conceptual Model views parents as the sole agents of change in their children's life, and
      focuses on the power of personal example, environmental changes and promotion of the
      authoritative parental style. This model has been found to be effective in the field of
      eating disorders but has never been implemented in the field of sleep.

      The main aim of this research is to evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention program
      that deals with increasing parents' awareness of the changes that characterize adolescents
      and encourages the authoritative parental style based on the Parenting Style Model; it also
      encourages parents to make environmental changes at home based on the Conceptual Model in
      order to promote healthy behaviors including healthy sleep patterns and controlled exposure
      to electronic media in young normative adolescents (ages 10-12) .

      Research Hypotheses:

      Hypothesis 1: There is a link between availability and the amount of time spent using
      electronic media. Adolescents who have media devices in their rooms are exposed for longer
      hours to electronic media compared to those who do not have media devices in their rooms. In
      addition, there is a link between the availability of the media devices and sleep patterns.
      Adolescents who have media devices in their rooms will show delayed sleep patterns and
      shorter sleep durations compared to those who do not.

      Hypothesis 2: There is a connection between parental style, sleep patterns and media exposure
      habits in young adolescents. Children of parents with an authoritative style would exhibit
      proper sleep patterns and exposure to electronic media; and children whose parents have an
      authoritarian parental style would have longer sleep durations and less exposure to
      electronic media compared with other parenting styles. It was assumed that children whose
      parents exhibit the permissive parental style would have shorter sleep duration and more
      exposure to electronic media compared to other parenting styles.

      Hypothesis 3: There is a connection between sleep patterns, media exposure habits and quality
      of life in young adolescents. The study will find that better sleep patterns and lower
      exposure to electronic media are related to higher quality of life in young adolescents.

      Hypothesis 4: The intervention program based on the Conceptual Model will lead to an increase
      in parents' knowledge about the changes that characterize adolescents and will promote the
      authoritative parental style.

      Hypothesis 5: The intervention program will lead to an improvement in healthy behaviors,
      including better sleep patterns, controlled use of electronic media, better quality of life
      of young adolescents.

      Method The sample included 70 dyads of parents (mostly mothers) and adolescents from schools
      in the Jezreel Valley. The experimental group and the control group each consisted of 35
      participants (35 girls) of average age 10.7 (0.9) years. There were three sessions of data
      collection: 1. baseline, 2. immediately following intervention, 3. three months
      post-intervention. Parents and adolescents reported on electronic media consumption, sleep
      patterns and quality of life. In addition, parents reported on their parenting styles and
      adolescents wore an ActiGraph (for monitoring their sleep patterns) and filled in a sleep
      diary for five days. Parents in the experimental group participated in six workshops, while
      parents in the control group received information regarding healthy sleep habits and the
      effects of excessive media exposure by mail and were expected to read it on their own.
    

Intervention name(s): Meetings guides by experts in sleeping disorders.
Intervention type(s): Other
Intervention description(s): meetings guides by experts in sleeping disorders. In those meeting the parents will be exposed to sleep disturbances, the importance of sleep habits and the influence of electronic media on sleep and learning.
Allocation: Non-Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Keywords: Sleep patterns; Electronic Media Exposure; Parental Intervention