Public research record
Fear-themed digital media exposure and sleep regulatory sensitivity in school-aged children: preliminary observations toward a developmental PhenoSleep construct.
Frontiers in neurology · 2026
- DOI 10.3389/fneur.2026.1816004
- PMID 42256561
- PMCID PMC13236553
Study snapshot
What this research can tell you
- What is this?
- An indexed scholarly work. The study design is not available in this public record.
- Who did it?
- Gnazzo M, Bargiacchi G, Germanò E, et al.
- What did they study?
- Population details are not available in this public record.
- How should I read it?
- FamilyPhD does not assign a strength rating without enough structured study detail.
What was found
The structured finding summary is not available. The study abstract is shown below.
Limitations
Structured limitations are not available in this public record. Absence here does not mean the study has no limitations.
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From the publication record
Study abstract
The abstract is publication text, not a FamilyPhD recommendation.
Methods
This cross-sectional study included 132 children aged 5-11 years (mean age = 8.69 years, SD = 2.01), divided into an exposed group ( n = 66) and a non-exposed control group (n = 66). Engagement with fear-themed content (Huggy Wuggy) was assessed using an ad hoc exposure questionnaire (TOT_HW). Emotional-behavioral functioning was measured with the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), and sleep regulation with the Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children (SDSC). Independent-sample t -tests and Pearson's correlations were performed.
Results
Compared to controls, exposed children showed higher CBCL Total Problems and SDSC Total Scores. Domain-specific differences were modest and not uniformly distributed across subscales. Within the exposed group, engagement intensity showed small positive associations with selected social, cognitive, and sleep-related measures, consistent with dimensional variability rather than overt dysfunction.
Conclusion
The findings do not support a deterministic psychopathological effect of fear-themed digital exposure. Instead, they are compatible with the interpretation that emotionally salient media may function as a mild environmental probe revealing interindividual differences in sleep regulatory sensitivity. We tentatively introduce the PhenoSleep construct to describe developmental variability in sleep continuity and arousal modulation in response to emotionally intense stimuli. Longitudinal and physiologically informed studies are required to further examine and refine this developmental regulatory model.
