Prediction of insomnia from arousability predisposition scores: Scale development and cross-validation

Abstract

In light of evidence which suggests that some forms of insomnia may result from cognitive hyperarousal, an attempt was made to develop an instrument composed of items which measure arousability as a predisposition or a trait, in the hope that this might predict tendencies toward disrupted sleep patterns. Starting with an original pool of 314 items a 70 item preliminary inventory was selected. Next a sample of 196 subjects was used to develop and validate a 12-item self-report inventory called the Arousal Predisposition Scale. Item selection was based on the ability to predict a global measure of insomnia. The resultant scale was then cross-validated on a sample of 693 subjects and shown to be both a valid and reliable predictor of several indexes of sleep disturbance.