0786 Sleep Problems and Associations with Mental Health Among Children Recently Adopted from Foster Care

Abstract Introduction Trauma and early adversity are known to increase risk for both sleep and psychological disturbances, placing children who spend time in foster care at a higher risk for these problems than other populations of youth. Recent research has shown most children in foster care experience impairing sleep problems, but little is known of whether and how these problems relate to longer-term mental health. Thus, among a large sample of children recently adopted from foster care, we examined the prevalence of sleep-related problems when children were first placed in the foster home and their associations with current mental health problems. Methods N=234 parents of children, 4–11 years (M=5.94, SD=1.97) adopted from foster care in the U.S. within the past two years completed an online survey about their children’s sleep and mental health. Participants were recruited through private social media groups for foster, kinship, and/or adoptive caregivers. Parents were asked to report the specific types of sleep-related problems children exhibited at time of first arrival in home and completed validated measures of child anxiety and depressive symptoms regarding their child’s current functioning. Results After first arriving in the home, 82.9% of children were reported to experience at least one sleep-related problem. Further, 58.5% were reported to experience nighttime awakenings, 37.2% exhibited fear of the dark, and 32.1% had trouble sleeping alone. Approximately one quarter of children wet the bed (27.8%), struggled with staying in bed (27.8%), experienced nightmares (26.1%), and/or had night terrors (22.6%). Total number of sleep-related problems was significantly positively correlated with child age (r (234) = .30, p < .001), as well as current separation anxiety (r (234) = .16, p < .05), generalized anxiety (r (234) = .33, p < .001), and depressive symptoms (r(234) = .23, p < .001). Conclusion Our findings align with previous reports indicating high rates of sleep-related problems among youth in foster care and further suggest that these early problems may be a harbinger for mental health problems even after children achieve permanence. Findings call for greater attention toward sleep health among children in foster care and other alternative care settings. Support (if any)