Morningness–eveningness preferences in Portuguese adolescents: Adaptation and psychometric validity of the H&O questionnaire

• Autor(a) principal: Rodrigues, Pedro F. S.
• Data de Publicação: 2016
• Outros Autores: Pandeirada, Josefa N. S., Marinho, Patrícia I., Bem-haja, Pedro, Silva, Carlos F., Ribeiro, Lígia, Fernandes, Natália Lisandra
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/11328/4470
• topic: Chronotype; Adolescents; Morningness–eveningness; Age; Gender; Psychometric validity

Throughout development individuals vary in their circadian preferences. One of the most notable changes occurs during adolescence when individuals tend to become progressively more evening-oriented. This is a critical age period to be studied given that eveningness preferences seem to relate with physical, psychological and social problems, whereas the most morning-oriented individuals tend to be protected against these problems. The aim of this study was to adapt and present the psychometric validity of the Morningness–Eveningness Questionnaire (Horne & Östberg, 1976) to Portuguese adolescents (12–14 years old). To this end, 300 adolescents responded to the questionnaire which was initially translated, re-translated, and then subject to a think-aloud procedure. Overall, the psychometric measures were positive. We found no significant effect of sex on the circadian preferences and a tendency for increased eveningness as age progresses, especially in males. We discuss our results in light of the existing literature.