Late Nights May Signal Preteen Problems
If you have a preteen child who is more of a night owl than a morning person, it could signal future behavioral problems. Researchers at Penn State University found that children who prefer evenings over mornings are more likely to exhibit antisocial behavior, rule-breaking and attention problems.
"Morningness/eveningness refers to individual differences in sleep-wake patterns and preferences for activity and alertness during mornings or evenings," said Elizabeth J. Susman, professor of biobehavioral health at Penn State. "Previous studies with older adolescents show that it is linked to various psychological problems."
Susman said eveningness could make young adolescents vulnerable to antisocial behavior as well. She and her colleagues are also studying how atypical patterns of cortisol secretion might add to the problem.
Susman's research found that atypical secretions of the hormone cortisol and early puberty are both linked to antisocial behavior. However, the effects are stronger for boys than girls.
Feelings of Isolation
In boys, a preference for eveningness is associated with traits of antisocial behavior such as rule-breaking, attention problems, and conduct disorder, the researchers found. But it does affect girls also.
"In girls, eveningness is associated just with relational aggression," said Susman in a press release. "This is behavior specifically meant to hurt another child's friendship, or feelings of isolation."
What does a parent do if they have a preteen who prefers evenings to mornings?
"Eveningness contributes to lack of sleep, and this in turn causes problems such as lack of control and attention regulation, which are associated with antisocial behavior and substance use," Susman said. Parents need to be vigilant in recognizing early signs of eveningness, and not only encourage their kids to sleep early but also ensure they get the required amount of sleep."
Source: The study was published in the July 2007 issue of Developmental Psychology.
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Comments
You have a SERIOUS causation problem here assuming that being more alert at night, and not something else, is the cause of these behavioral problems. Being a night owl is ACTUALLY biologically predetermined, just like sexual orientation or left-handedness - it cannot be changed just by going to be earlier! But the way night owl chronotypes are treated, is it any wonder many of them develop behavior problems? I.e. making a night owl go to school when their bodies want to sleep is sure to lead to poor performance and school failure. And telling them they are lazy and undisciplined and to just go to bed earlier as if laying in bed for four hours during their most alert time of day could solve the problem is complete garbage, borderline child abuse in my opinion. If your kid is an extreme night owl and his/her daytime performance is suffering because of it, that kid NEEDS to be evaluated for a sleep disorder, specifically one known as delayed sleep phase syndrome (DSPS). You need to stop being such an ignorant owl-basher and start doing your job as a parent!
It’s hardly eveningness itself which leads to anti-social behavior. More likely it’s the lack of understanding from authority figures including parents. If a person, of any age, really CANNOT get to sleep before 1 or 2 or 3 a.m., there’s not much point in spending those hours staring at the ceiling. Rebellion at being gravely misunderstood is a natural, maybe even healthy, reaction.
Fifty or so years ago, people with dyslexia were considered to be uncooperative and lazy at the least. Now prisons are overpopulated with people with dyslexia, while children with that disability are receiving understanding and help. Must we wait 50 years before eveningness is well-understood? Delayed Sleep-Phase Syndrome is now a well-studied and to some degree treatable disorder. Take those kids seriously and give them the help they need!
I concede the point that “eveningness” and antisocial behavior are correlated, but there is no evidence presented for a CAUSAL link.