(PS11-A18) The Impact of COVID-19 and Related Measures on the Sleep of Adolescents with and Without ADHD

The current COVID-19 pandemic, especially remote learning, has been found to affect the sleep of adolescents with and without ADHD. However, these findings are only preliminary, as few studies have examined this. These studies suggest that on the one hand adolescents experience more sleep difficulties, and more sleep hygiene problems, but on the other hand, they might also experience effects, such as less daytime sleepiness and longer sleep duration during school nights. However, in adolescents with ADHD these positive effects might be less prominent. Consequently, the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on sleep needs to be examined more thoroughly, and the effect on the sleep of adolescents with and without ADHD needs to be compared. Thereby, a specific focus has to be on the effect of remote classes, as these are suggested to be responsible for the positive changes.

In this project, four groups will be compared. First, two groups of adolescents with ADHD and sleep problems were tested. One while there was 50% remote learning, and the other while there was 0% remote learning, thus they had a consistent school schedule. The same is going to be done with two groups of adolescents without ADHD. Data collection will be finalized in March 2022 (20 adolescents without ADHD still need to be tested). In total, 94 adolescents (49 with ADHD and 45 without ADHD) between 13 and 17 years old will be included. Adolescents in the ADHD group need to have an ADHD diagnosis and have to meet current ADHD diagnostic criteria based on a clinical interview. Exclusion criteria are medical disorders or medication influencing sleep, melatonin use, and comorbid ASS. Sleep architecture is measured both objectively, using actigraphs (MotionWatch 8, Camntech) and subjectively (sleep diaries). Additionally, sleep problems and sleep hygiene are measured based on questionnaires.

The following statistical analyses will be implemented once data collection is finalized. First, descriptive analyses will be conducted examining sleep architecture, sleep problems, and sleep hygiene at both time points. The two groups of adolescents with ADHD will be compared using t-tests and Chi-square tests, to examine the changes due to COVID-19. The same will be done with the two groups of adolescents without ADHD. Second, an exploratory structural equation model will be implemented to examine whether the ADHD diagnosis affects the changes in sleep between time point 1 and time point 2. All analyses are going to be conducted in R.