Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 Sleep and Biological Rhythms https://doi.org/10.1007/s41105-020-00257-x ORIGINAL ARTICLE Cleveland Adolescent Sleepiness Questionnaire (CASQ): a translation and validation study of the Persian version Mohammad Aghajani 1  · Mohammad Hajijafari 2  · Hossein Akbari 3  · Fatemeh Sadat Asgarian 3 Received: 6 June 2019 / Accepted: 9 February 2020 © Japanese Society of Sleep Research 2020 Abstract Introduction The purpose of this study was to assess the validity and reliability of the Persian version of the Cleveland Adolescent Sleepiness Questionnaire (CASQ) in Iranian adolescents. Methods The CASQ consists of 16 items measuring extreme sleepiness during the day in adolescents aged 11–17 years old. The questionnaire includes two dimensions: Sleepiness Statements and Alertness Statements. This study was a descriptive cross-sectional study. The original English text of CASQ was translated into Persian using backward-forward translation. Then, 310 secondary school adolescents aged 11–17 years old completed that in Kashan. The internal validity of the question- naire was determined two times at an interval of two weeks using Cronbach’s alpha coefcient. The concurrent validity was determined using Spearman correlation coefcient. Factor analysis was used by performing principle component analysis for assessing construct validity. Results 199 (47.1%) of the adolescents participated in this study, were male and 111 (52.9%) were female. Mean and standard deviation of the age of adolescents were 14.31 ± 0.9. The Cronbach’s alpha coefcient for the entire CASQ was the satisfactory value of 0.8. The intra-class correlation coefcient (ICC coefcient) of the tool was 0.78, which confrmed the repeatability of this test. Spearman’s correlation coefcient between CASQ and Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS) was equal to 0.21, and the correlation coefcient between CASQ and Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was 0.25. Both were signifcant at P < 0.05 level. Conclusions Based on the present study fndings, we concluded that the Persian version of CASQ has an appropriate validity and reliability for assessing the sleepiness of adolescents in the Persian language community. Keywords Cleveland Adolescent Sleepiness Questionnaire · Iran · Reliability · Validity Introduction One third of people’s lives is spent in sleep. It should not be a waste of time because sleep reduces stress, anxiety, and nervous pressure, and help the person recycle energy for more focus and adaptation of the benefts of daily activi- ties [1]. Prevalence of sleep problems is 25–40% among adolescents and young people. These problems are often unknown and untreatable. Inadequate sleep and sleep dep- rivation result in neurological, behavioral, and physiologi- cal changes [2]. It is also associated with a decline in aca- demic performance and a decrease in daily performance in classroom. A signifcant number of teenagers in the United States complains about excessive sleepiness during the day. Research about adolescent sleeping habits shows that in each region between 84 and 87% of adolescents do not have enough sleep [3–6]. A similar trend has been observed among teens from other countries [7]. Sleepiness during the day leads to problems such as increased aggression and other behavioral problems, poorer academic performance, increased risk of injury (including workplace accidents), and increased use of cafeine, nicotine, and other stimulants in adolescents. Sleep is very important * Fatemeh Sadat Asgarian fatisadat@yahoo.com 1 Infectious Disease Research Center, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Islamic Republic of Iran 2 Trauma Research Center, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Islamic Republic of Iran 3 Social Determinants of Health (SDH) Research Center, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Islamic Republic of Iran