Current status of development of Chinese versions of insomnia-related scales

Abstract

Insomnia disorder is the most common sleep-wake disorder, and long-term insomnia has a serious negative impact on the physical and mental health of individuals. It is crucial for researchers and clinicians to select appropriate measurement tools as evaluative indicators for insomnia. There are some commonly used insomnia assessment scales in the world, including Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), etc. These scales are widely used to assess insomnia symptoms and sleep quality, providing researchers and clinicians with reliable quantitative tools. In addition to conventional insomnia assessment scales, some scales evaluate sleep cognition, sleep hygiene, and sleep conditions of different groups of people. Domestic scholars are actively developing sleep assessment tools suitable for the Chinese population, which also include sleep assessment for special groups. In addition, some sleep assessment with traditional Chinese medicine characteristics have also been developed to meet the needs of integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine treatment. During the process of scale development, researchers should clarify the purpose of scale, select appropriate psychometric methods, and emphasize the reliability and validity of the scale. Furthermore, it is important to develop scales that can differentiate subtypes of insomnia and enhance the diversity of insomnia-related measures. This article summarizes the current situation of development of Chinese versions of insomnia-related scales, and provides evaluation and future prospects for existing scales.

Keywords

• insomnia scale
• sleep quality
• sleep-wake disorder
• insomnia assessment
• sleep status