Peer Review History

Original SubmissionMay 30, 2022
Decision Letter - Jamie Males, Editor

PONE-D-22-15638Parental Stress and Sleep Disorders According to their Child’s Mental HealthPLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Merrill,

Thank you for submitting your manuscript to PLOS ONE. After careful consideration, we feel that it has merit but does not fully meet PLOS ONE’s publication criteria as it currently stands. Therefore, we invite you to submit a revised version of the manuscript that addresses the points raised during the review process.

Please note that we have only been able to secure a single reviewer to assess your manuscript. We are issuing a decision on your manuscript at this point to prevent further delays in the evaluation of your manuscript. Please be aware that the editor who handles your revised manuscript might find it necessary to invite additional reviewers to assess this work once the revised manuscript is submitted. However, we will aim to proceed on the basis of this single review if possible.

The reviewer has raised some concerns about the framing of the study's rationale and objectives, and has also suggested additional reporting of participant demographics. Please respond carefully to all of the points they have raised when preparing your revisions.

Please submit your revised manuscript by Oct 21 2022 11:59PM. If you will need more time than this to complete your revisions, please reply to this message or contact the journal office at plosone@plos.org. When you're ready to submit your revision, log on to https://www.editorialmanager.com/pone/ and select the 'Submissions Needing Revision' folder to locate your manuscript file.

Please include the following items when submitting your revised manuscript:

  • A rebuttal letter that responds to each point raised by the academic editor and reviewer(s). You should upload this letter as a separate file labeled 'Response to Reviewers'.
  • A marked-up copy of your manuscript that highlights changes made to the original version. You should upload this as a separate file labeled 'Revised Manuscript with Track Changes'.
  • An unmarked version of your revised paper without tracked changes. You should upload this as a separate file labeled 'Manuscript'.

If you would like to make changes to your financial disclosure, please include your updated statement in your cover letter. Guidelines for resubmitting your figure files are available below the reviewer comments at the end of this letter.

If applicable, we recommend that you deposit your laboratory protocols in protocols.io to enhance the reproducibility of your results. Protocols.io assigns your protocol its own identifier (DOI) so that it can be cited independently in the future. For instructions see: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/submission-guidelines#loc-laboratory-protocols. Additionally, PLOS ONE offers an option for publishing peer-reviewed Lab Protocol articles, which describe protocols hosted on protocols.io. Read more information on sharing protocols at https://plos.org/protocols?utm_medium=editorial-email&utm_source=authorletters&utm_campaign=protocols.

We look forward to receiving your revised manuscript.

Kind regards,

Jamie Males

Editorial Office

PLOS ONE

Journal Requirements:

When submitting your revision, we need you to address these additional requirements.

1. Please ensure that your manuscript meets PLOS ONE's style requirements, including those for file naming. The PLOS ONE style templates can be found at

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/file?id=wjVg/PLOSOne_formatting_sample_main_body.pdf  and

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/file?id=ba62/PLOSOne_formatting_sample_title_authors_affiliations.pdf

2. In your Data Availability statement, you have not specified where the minimal data set underlying the results described in your manuscript can be found. PLOS defines a study's minimal data set as the underlying data used to reach the conclusions drawn in the manuscript and any additional data required to replicate the reported study findings in their entirety. All PLOS journals require that the minimal data set be made fully available. For more information about our data policy, please see http://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/data-availability.

Upon re-submitting your revised manuscript, please upload your study’s minimal underlying data set as either Supporting Information files or to a stable, public repository and include the relevant URLs, DOIs, or accession numbers within your revised cover letter. For a list of acceptable repositories, please see http://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/data-availability#loc-recommended-repositories. Any potentially identifying patient information must be fully anonymized.

Important: If there are ethical or legal restrictions to sharing your data publicly, please explain these restrictions in detail. Please see our guidelines for more information on what we consider unacceptable restrictions to publicly sharing data: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/data-availability#loc-unacceptable-data-access-restrictions. Note that it is not acceptable for the authors to be the sole named individuals responsible for ensuring data access.

We will update your Data Availability statement to reflect the information you provide in your cover letter.

3. Please ensure that you refer to Figure 1 in your text as, if accepted, production will need this reference to link the reader to the figure.

[Note: HTML markup is below. Please do not edit.]

Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #1: Yes

**********

2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: Yes

**********

3. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.

Reviewer #1: Yes

**********

4. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.

Reviewer #1: Yes

**********

5. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #1: This is an interesting subject and strong data collection, and I believe can be a good paper, yet, a major adjustment is needed before hand.

- I would think twice about the word “According” in the title. It directs readers in a different path.

- The objective is unclear.

- In the abstract there are 2 sentences that say the same thing –

o The rate of stress is 2.13 (95% CI 1.62–2.78) times higher in those with a sleep disorder after adjusting for age, sex, and marital status.

o Among contract holders, mothers, singles, and those with a sleep disorder had significantly higher rates of stress

If that is not so – than a clarification is needed.

- I suggest using the term “participants” instead of “contract holders”. This does not feel as an academic terminology.

- Conclusions -not innovative.

- Last sentence p2 – but also a possible predictor of forthcoming mental health disorders - why is this relevant? Needs clarifying.

- Hypotheses are needed.

- The introduction explains previous research on the given subject but does not show how this study adds on previous knowledge.

- Population –

o Data given is lacking. I don’t need to hear about the insurance company but data about the participants that may be relevant to stress and parenting. Such as: gender prevalence, mean age, socioeconomic status, marital status, family orientation, hours of work outside the house, etc..

- Discussion

This study identified the rate of parental stress and sleep disorders and the association between these variables. That is interesting but not adding to existing knowledge.

o Suggestions for future research are needed.

o What are the practical implications of this research?

**********

6. PLOS authors have the option to publish the peer review history of their article (what does this mean?). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.

If you choose “no”, your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public.

Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review? For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our Privacy Policy.

Reviewer #1: No

**********

[NOTE: If reviewer comments were submitted as an attachment file, they will be attached to this email and accessible via the submission site. Please log into your account, locate the manuscript record, and check for the action link "View Attachments". If this link does not appear, there are no attachment files.]

While revising your submission, please upload your figure files to the Preflight Analysis and Conversion Engine (PACE) digital diagnostic tool, https://pacev2.apexcovantage.com/. PACE helps ensure that figures meet PLOS requirements. To use PACE, you must first register as a user. Registration is free. Then, login and navigate to the UPLOAD tab, where you will find detailed instructions on how to use the tool. If you encounter any issues or have any questions when using PACE, please email PLOS at figures@plos.org. Please note that Supporting Information files do not need this step.

Revision 1

Response to Reviewer Comments:

I would think twice about the word “According” in the title. It directs readers in a different path.

Response: The title has been changed to now say: “Relating Severe Stress with Sleep Disorders in Parents and Children”

- The objective is unclear

Response: The objective in the Abstract now says: “To assess whether child sleep disorder positively correlates with parental insomnia, hypersomnia, and sleep apnea, and to identify and whether parental and child sleep disorders simultaneously positively associate with parental stress. Potential modifying influences of these associations by age, sex, and marital status will be considered.” This objective is consistent with what is written at the end of the Introduction, in the Discussion, and in the Conclusion.

- In the abstract there are 2 sentences that say the same thing –

The rate of stress is 2.13 (95% CI 1.62–2.78) times higher in those with a sleep disorder after adjusting for age, sex, and marital status.

Response: The Abstract has been rewritten to better align with the clarified objective and hypotheses of the study. These sentences are no longer included.

Among contract holders, mothers, singles, and those with a sleep disorder had significantly higher rates of stress

If that is not so – then a clarification is needed.

Response: This statement is consistent with the findings.

- I suggest using the term “participants” instead of “contract holders”. This does not feel as an academic terminology.

Response: Because all enrollees (parents and children) in the study are participants, and because we wanted to distinguish between the contract holders and the children, we thought the word “employees” would work better for “contract holders.”

- Conclusions -not innovative.

Response: the Conclusion section in the Abstract and at the end of the paper tries to emphasize the importance of this study.

- Last sentence p2 – but also a possible predictor of forthcoming mental health disorders - why is this relevant? Needs clarifying.

Response: The sentence was deleted.

- Hypotheses are needed.

Response: Four specific hypotheses were added at the end of the Introduction. The Discussion is organized by these four hypotheses.

- The introduction explains previous research on the given subject but does not show how this study adds on previous knowledge.

Response: The last paragraph of the Introduction has been rewritten and clarifies what this study adds.

- Population –

o Data given is lacking. I don’t need to hear about the insurance company but data about the participants that may be relevant to stress and parenting. Such as: gender prevalence, mean age, socioeconomic status, marital status, family orientation, hours of work outside the house, etc.

Response: Under the section titled Data Collection in the Methods, a little more information about the study group is added (i.e., the distribution of salaries for the employees). The first paragraph of the Methods includes a description of the enrollees in DMA according to place of residence and job type.

- Discussion

This study identified the rate of parental stress and sleep disorders and the association between these variables. That is interesting but not adding to existing knowledge.

Response: The Introduction (last paragraph) now clarifies what is known and what will be added. The Discussion begins by addressing how the Results provide information consistent with the literature. Discussion about the hypotheses, however, provides information on what knowledge is being added by this study.

o Suggestions for future research are needed.

Response: In the Discussion we add that “The null result involving hypersomnia is inconsistent with previous research [32, 33] and deserves further investigation.” Also, a limitation paragraph was added at the end of the Discussion. One sentence included there says: “However, future research may link additional years of data in order to better understand temporal sequences of events between sleep disorders and stress.”

o What are the practical implications of this research?

Response: The following was added at the end of the Conclusion: “Better understanding the connection between parent and child sleep quality and parent stress, and modifying influences, may help improve treatment and lower the risk of these disorders.”

Attachments
Attachment
Submitted filename: Response to Reviewers.docx
Decision Letter - Gudmundur Skarphedinsson, Editor

Relating Severe Stress with Sleep Disorders in Parents and Children

PONE-D-22-15638R1

Dear Dr. Merrill,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

Within one week, you’ll receive an e-mail detailing the required amendments. When these have been addressed, you’ll receive a formal acceptance letter and your manuscript will be scheduled for publication.

An invoice for payment will follow shortly after the formal acceptance. To ensure an efficient process, please log into Editorial Manager at http://www.editorialmanager.com/pone/, click the 'Update My Information' link at the top of the page, and double check that your user information is up-to-date. If you have any billing related questions, please contact our Author Billing department directly at authorbilling@plos.org.

If your institution or institutions have a press office, please notify them about your upcoming paper to help maximize its impact. If they’ll be preparing press materials, please inform our press team as soon as possible -- no later than 48 hours after receiving the formal acceptance. Your manuscript will remain under strict press embargo until 2 pm Eastern Time on the date of publication. For more information, please contact onepress@plos.org.

Kind regards,

Gudmundur Skarphedinsson, PhD

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Additional Editor Comments (optional):

Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. If the authors have adequately addressed your comments raised in a previous round of review and you feel that this manuscript is now acceptable for publication, you may indicate that here to bypass the “Comments to the Author” section, enter your conflict of interest statement in the “Confidential to Editor” section, and submit your "Accept" recommendation.

Reviewer #1: All comments have been addressed

**********

2. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #1: Yes

**********

3. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: Yes

**********

4. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.

Reviewer #1: Yes

**********

5. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.

Reviewer #1: Yes

**********

6. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #1: I have found that all of my concerns have been addressed. The authors have added research questions and have cleared their intent as well as the implications of this study.

**********

7. PLOS authors have the option to publish the peer review history of their article (what does this mean?). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.

If you choose “no”, your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public.

Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review? For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our Privacy Policy.

Reviewer #1: No

**********

Formally Accepted
Acceptance Letter - Gudmundur Skarphedinsson, Editor

PONE-D-22-15638R1

Relating Parental Stress with Sleep Disorders in Parents and Children

Dear Dr. Merrill:

I'm pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been deemed suitable for publication in PLOS ONE. Congratulations! Your manuscript is now with our production department.

If your institution or institutions have a press office, please let them know about your upcoming paper now to help maximize its impact. If they'll be preparing press materials, please inform our press team within the next 48 hours. Your manuscript will remain under strict press embargo until 2 pm Eastern Time on the date of publication. For more information please contact onepress@plos.org.

If we can help with anything else, please email us at plosone@plos.org.

Thank you for submitting your work to PLOS ONE and supporting open access.

Kind regards,

PLOS ONE Editorial Office Staff

on behalf of

Dr. Gudmundur Skarphedinsson

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Open letter on the publication of peer review reports

PLOS recognizes the benefits of transparency in the peer review process. Therefore, we enable the publication of all of the content of peer review and author responses alongside final, published articles. Reviewers remain anonymous, unless they choose to reveal their names.

We encourage other journals to join us in this initiative. We hope that our action inspires the community, including researchers, research funders, and research institutions, to recognize the benefits of published peer review reports for all parts of the research system.

Learn more at ASAPbio .