No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
Co-sleeping: Help or hindrance for young children's independence?
Infant and Child Development
Abstract
This study investigated the relationship between sleep arrangements and claims regarding possible problems and benefits related to co-sleeping. Participants were 83 mothers of preschool-aged children. Data were collected through parent questionnaires. Early co-sleepers (who began co-sleeping in infancy), reactive co-sleepers (children who began co-sleeping at or after age one), and solitary sleepers were compared on the dimensions of maternal attitudes toward sleep arrangements; night wakings and bedtime struggles; children's self-reliance and independence in social and sleep-related behaviours; and maternal autonomy support. The hypothesis that co-sleeping would interfere with children's independence was partially supported: solitary sleepers fell asleep alone, slept through the night, and weaned earlier than the co-sleepers. However, early co-sleeping children were more self-reliant (e.g. ability to dress oneself) and exhibited more social independence (e.g. make friends by oneself). Mothers of early co-sleeping children were least favourable toward solitary sleep arrangements and most supportive of their child's autonomy, as compared to mothers in other sleep groups. Reactive co-sleepers emerged as a distinct co-sleeping sub-type, with parents reporting frequent night wakings and, contrary to early co-sleepers, experiencing these night wakings as highly disruptive. Implications for parents and pediatricians are discussed. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
... Hence, co-sleeping can be further categorized as bedsharing or room sharing with parents, but not all studies make this differentiation. While any type of co-sleeping can be a reactive practice (families that typically prefer a solitary sleeping arrangement, but who practice co-sleeping in response to their child's nocturnal behaviors), it can also be intentional/planned (families that usually practice and prefer a co-sleeping arrangement; Keller & Goldberg, 2004;Shimizu & Teti, 2018). In the present article, specific subcategories (bedsharing, room sharing, reactive or intentional) will be used to describe cited studies when possible and the term co-sleeping will be used to identify undetermined or undefined arrangements. ...
... The Sleep Practices Questionnaire (SPQ, Keller & Goldberg, 2004) assesses infant sleeping arrangements and infant sleep-related parental perceptions. The sleep location item was used to determine the infant's sleeping arrangement (Where does your baby usually sleep at night?) at 6 months. ...
... Interestingly, in the present study, parents who perceived less disparity between expected and actual sleeping arrangements experienced fewer depressive symptoms, even after considering the actual sleep location, with a small effect size. Present findings are consistent with our hypothesis and with a study showing negative outcomes, specifically in parents practicing reactive co-sleeping (room and bedsharing), while night awakenings were not being perceived as being problematic in families practicing planned co-sleeping (Keller & Goldberg, 2004). This is of major importance, since bedsharing is rarely planned in Western industrialized countries, but nonetheless is practiced by a third of the general population (Gilmour et al., 2019). ...
Studies describing the link between infant sleeping arrangements and postpartum maternal depressive symptoms have led to inconsistent findings. However, expectations regarding these sleeping arrangements were rarely taken into consideration. Furthermore, very few studies on pediatric sleep have included fathers. Therefore, the aims of this study were (1) to compare maternal and paternal attitudes regarding co-sleeping arrangements and (2) to explore the associations among sleeping arrangements, the discrepancy between expected and actual sleeping arrangements, and depressive symptoms, in mothers and fathers. General attitudes about co-sleeping, sleeping arrangements and the discrepancy between expected and actual sleeping arrangements were assessed using the Sleep Practices Questionnaire (SPQ) in 92 parents (41 couples and 10 parents who participated alone in the study) of 6-month-old infants. Parental depressive symptoms were measured with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D). Within the same couple, mothers were generally more supportive than fathers of a co-sleeping arrangement ( p < 0.01). Multivariate linear mixed model analyses showed that both mothers’ and fathers’ depressive symptoms were significantly associated with a greater discrepancy between the expected and actual sleeping arrangement (small to moderate effect size) ( p < 0.05) regardless of the actual sleeping arrangement. These findings shed new light on the conflicting results concerning the link between co-sleeping and parental depressive symptoms reported in the literature. Researchers and clinicians should consider not only actual sleeping arrangements, but also parents’ expectations.
... We would argue that lifestyle choices are driven by parents' values nevertheless, as is illustrated by the general differences in childrearing agendas between solitary and co-sleeping families (Okami et al., 2002). Maybe in line with these cultural findings, bedsharing is sometimes considered an obstacle to infants' development of independence (see Keller & Goldberg, 2004 for a discussion). Indeed, Korean mothers are concerned about diminished autonomy in children through co-sleeping and argue that children should start sleeping independently between 5 and 6 years because they "need to learn independence and autonomy to get ready for elementary school" (Yang & Hahn, 2002, p. 153). ...
... However, this connection between co-sleeping and lack of independence does not seem universal. In a study on mothers and their children in California, the mothers who bedshared with their children were more autonomy-supportive than the others (Keller & Goldberg, 2004). In addition, it seems that sleeping independently fosters independence in sleep-related areas (e.g., falling asleep, sleeping through the night), but not necessarily other areas, such as self-reliance and social independence (including dressing oneself, entertaining oneself or resolving problems with playmates, making friends) which are more pronounced in bedsharers (Keller & Goldberg, 2004). ...
... In a study on mothers and their children in California, the mothers who bedshared with their children were more autonomy-supportive than the others (Keller & Goldberg, 2004). In addition, it seems that sleeping independently fosters independence in sleep-related areas (e.g., falling asleep, sleeping through the night), but not necessarily other areas, such as self-reliance and social independence (including dressing oneself, entertaining oneself or resolving problems with playmates, making friends) which are more pronounced in bedsharers (Keller & Goldberg, 2004). These latter results find some support by a connection between co-sleeping and attachment security (Mileva-Seitz et al., 2016) which may be related to infants' social skills. ...
This study addresses Norwegian infants’ sleeping places during the day and night. In the first part we asked the general public to indicate where they think infants should sleep by placing stickers on a depiction of different sleeping places. This revealed that infants were expected to predominantly sleep outside in a stroller during the day and either bedshare, room share or sleep independently from their parents at night. Interviews with Norwegian mothers confirmed these patterns and revealed that mothers emphasized the benefits of fresh air and being out in nature. They expressed valuing independence, though their opinions on how this could be achieved diverged, some proposing independent, other co-sleeping. Other outcomes of sleeping arrangements were rarely mentioned. Some, particularly mothers whose children bedshared or had different sleeping places from one night to the other or throughout the night, emphasized the infants’ right to choose how to sleep. None of the mothers endorsed letting infants cry themselves to sleep but many mentioned the importance of the child feeling secure. We argue that the seemingly contradictory sleeping patterns is in line with cultural values for independence, social cohesion and a love of nature.
... Stress, as opposed to calming, shortens IBI and lowers HRV, whereas selfregulatory effort elevates IBI and HRV (Esposito, Setoh, Bornstein et al., 2015;Esposito, Setoh, Yoshida et al., 2015;Reynard et al., 2011;Segerstrom & Nes, 2007). Due to the stress induced by mother-infant separation, we hypothesized that infants would display greatest physiological calming during co-sleeping, less in the BAL sleeping condition, and show physiological stress in the solitary sleeping condition (Feldman, Singer, & Zagoory, 2010;Keller & Goldberg, 2004b;Morgan, Horn, & Bergman, 2011;Pryce, Aubert, Maier, Pearce, & Fuchs, 2011). Additionally, due to enhanced mutual regulation and intimacy when dyadic partners are in close physical contact (Ball, Hooker, & Kelly, 2000;Chu, 2014;Keller & Goldberg, 2004a, 2004bMcKenna & McDade, 2005), we expected infants who regularly co-sleep would have developed greater physiological self-regulation and adapt better to changes in sleeping conditions compared to their counterparts who regularly experience BAL and solitary sleeping arrangements. ...
... Due to the stress induced by mother-infant separation, we hypothesized that infants would display greatest physiological calming during co-sleeping, less in the BAL sleeping condition, and show physiological stress in the solitary sleeping condition (Feldman, Singer, & Zagoory, 2010;Keller & Goldberg, 2004b;Morgan, Horn, & Bergman, 2011;Pryce, Aubert, Maier, Pearce, & Fuchs, 2011). Additionally, due to enhanced mutual regulation and intimacy when dyadic partners are in close physical contact (Ball, Hooker, & Kelly, 2000;Chu, 2014;Keller & Goldberg, 2004a, 2004bMcKenna & McDade, 2005), we expected infants who regularly co-sleep would have developed greater physiological self-regulation and adapt better to changes in sleeping conditions compared to their counterparts who regularly experience BAL and solitary sleeping arrangements. Alternatively, if regular solitary sleeping promotes self-regulation in infants (Burnham et al., 2002;Keller & Goldberg, 2004a;, physiological self-regulatory responses may also be found in infants who are regular solitary sleepers. ...
... Specifically, each infant of each sleeping type was observed in all three sleeping arrangements conditions in a counterbalanced sequence repeated twice and averages of mean IBI and HRV (rMSSD) were obtained from all three types of sleepers in all three sleeping arrangement conditions. It was hypothesized that infants display greater physiological calming while co-sleeping, followed by sleeping beyond arm's length and show physiological stress while solitary sleeping owing to stress caused by mother-infant separation (Feldman et al., 2010;Keller & Goldberg, 2004b;Morgan et al., 2011;Pryce et al., 2011). Along the same line of thought, infants who regularly co-sleep were expected to have developed greater physiological self-regulation and adapt better to changes in sleeping condition compared to their counterparts who regularly sleep beyond arm's length and sleep solitarily owing to enhanced mutual regulation when dyadic partners are in close physical contact (Ball et al., 2000;Chu, 2014;Keller & Goldberg, 2004, 2004bMcKenna & McDade, 2005). ...
... Two of the three existing studies focused on parent-infant bed sharing and relations with later child sleeping behaviors. Whereas one of these studies of bed sharing, using a prospective design, found early bed sharing not to predict night wakings in childhood (Jenni, Fuhrer, Iglowstein, Molinari, & Largo, 2005), the other, a retrospective study, found early bed sharing to relate to more night wakings and failure to fall asleep alone at preschool age (Keller & Goldberg, 2004). The Keller and Goldberg study also showed that children who shared the bed with their parents early in life were more self-reliant and socially competent as preschoolers. ...
... In contrast, some researchers have pointed to the possible facilitating effects of room sharing on children's later development, including strengthening child competence and reducing nighttime fears (Goldberg & Keller, 2007;Keller & Goldberg, 2004;McKenna & McDade, 2005). We propose that the physical proximity associated with infant-parent room sharing may, through a variety of mechanisms, start a chain of events as follows: (a) proximity contributes to the parent's assistance in regulating the infant; (b) parental regulation then facilitates the infant's developing emotional and behavioral selfregulatory capacities (e.g., Choe, Olson, & Sameroff, 2013;Schore, 2001); and (c) child self-regulatory capacities, in turn, facilitate later social and emotional development, resulting in fewer internalizing and externalizing problems, and more prosocial behavior (e.g., Moffitt et al., 2011;Williams, Nicholson, Walker, & Berthelsen, 2016). ...
... to be not predictive of night wakings in childhood (Jenni et al., 2005) but nonconverging with the retrospective study relating early bed sharing to more night wakings and failure to fall asleep alone at preschool age (Keller & Goldberg, 2004). Nevertheless, it remains unclear whether the study from Jenni et al. (2005) should be viewed as indicating consistency, given that bed sharing and room sharing are different arrangements and might therefore have distinct relations with child's later sleep behavior. ...
Current recommendations encourage parent–infant room sharing for the first 6 months of life. This longitudinal study (N = 193) is the first to examine long‐term relations of early room sharing with three domains of child behavior: sleep, behavior problems, and prosocial behavior. Information on room sharing was collected daily for infants’ first 6 months. At ages 6, 7, and 8 years, outcomes were assessed with maternal and teacher questionnaires and behavioral observations. Early room sharing was not related to sleep problems or behavior problems. Additionally, more weeks of room sharing were positively related to higher maternal ratings of child sleep quality and more prosocial behavior. In conclusion, early room sharing appears to be related to positive, but not negative, behavior outcomes in middle childhood.
... Past research suggests that two subtypes of co-sleeping exist in the United States: parents who do not prefer cosleeping but use this arrangement in reaction to the child's sleep problems (reactive co-sleeping) and those who prefer co-sleeping because of the beliefs that maintaining close infant-parent contact facilitates easier feeds and promotes parent-infant bonding (proactive co-sleeping). Keller and Goldberg (2004) and Ramos, Youngclarke, and Anderson (2007) found that both proactive co-sleeping and solitary sleeping parents view their child's sleep disruptions as less problematic than reactive co-sleeping parents. This suggests that mothers' preferences for their choice of sleep arrangement may alleviate their distress. ...
... Individual, stand-alone items from the Sleep Practice Questionnaire (SPQ: Keller & Goldberg, 2004) were adapted for this study. This questionnaire contained 62 items asking about infant sleeping arrangements and feelings on sleeping arrangement choices. ...
... Maternal employment status was reported at 6, 9, and 12 months. Space constraints were rated on a 5-point scale (1: not at all to 5: definitely), using the Sleep Practice Questionnaire (Keller & Goldberg, 2004). C = mothers who co-slept with their infants beyond 6 months; d = effect sizes for the results of the t tests; Freq. ...
The present study examined differences in social criticism and maternal distress and in household, maternal, and infant characteristics between families who co‐slept with their infants beyond 6 months and those who moved their infants to a separate room by 6 months. Data for infant sleeping arrangements, preferences for their sleeping arrangement choices, criticism, depressive and anxiety symptoms, and worries about infant sleep were collected from 103 European American mothers during the infant's first year. Mothers who co‐slept with their infants beyond 6 months (persistent co‐sleepers) were more likely than mothers who moved their infants to solitary sleep by 6 months to receive criticism and report depression and worry about infants' sleep behaviour, even after controlling for preference for the sleep arrangement they used. Interestingly, criticism was associated with maternal depression and worries only for persistent co‐sleeping mothers. Further, these mothers had lower income, reported greater space constraints; were younger, single, or unemployed; were less likely to have a Bachelor's degree; and were more likely to have infants with greater negative affectivity or problematic night waking, compared to mothers of solitary sleeping infants. Adherence to cultural norms regarding infant sleeping arrangements may be a strong predictor of social criticism and maternal well‐being.
Highlights
The present study examined differences in levels of criticism and maternal distress and in sample characteristics by infant sleep arrangements.
The covariance pattern models revealed that persistent co‐sleeping mothers reported greater social criticism, depressive symptoms, and worry about infants' sleep behaviour than mothers of solitary sleeping infants. Social criticism was associated with maternal depressive symptoms and worries only for mothers in the former group, consistent with the cultural model of sleep.
Co‐sleepers' household and maternal characteristics reported by past work may be most applicable to European American families. The European American families who persistently co‐slept with their infants in our study may be reactive co‐sleepers.
... Bed partners of individuals who experience sleep disorders, such as obstructive sleep apnea, frequently awaken throughout the night, resulting in decreased sleep efficiency (Beninati et al. 1999;Troxel et al. 2009). Research also suggests that children who co-sleep with parents have more nighttime awakenings, which may in turn impact the parents' functioning the next day (Keller and Goldberg 2004). Chronic and severe sleep disruption can leave parents vulnerable to depression, impaired physical health, increased stress, and reduced overall quality of life (Sadeh et al. 2011;Richard et al. 1998). ...
... Severe sleep disturbance resulting from sharing a bed has the potential to impair daytime functioning and well-being. However, less severe disturbances consisting of fewer awakenings or shorter disruptions (see Keller and Goldberg 2004) may not be enough to cause significant daytime impairment. This suggests that the number of wakings itself is unlikely to be a suitable indicator of impaired daytime functioning specifically associated with co-sleeping. ...
... Indeed, several studies have reported positive outcomes from co-sleeping that may relate to both human-human and interspecies co-sleeping. For example, Keller and Goldberg (2004) note that children who sleep with their parents while young are in fact are more self-reliant and exhibit more social independence, rather than the opposite. Heron (1994) also reported that children who were never permitted to share their beds were more fearful and more difficult to control than children who consistently slept in their parents' bed at night. ...
Human sleeping arrangements have evolved over time and differ across cultures. The majority of adults share their bed at one time or another with a partner or child, and many also sleep with pets. In fact, around half of dog and cat owners report sharing a bed or bedroom with their pet(s). However, interspecies co-sleeping has been trivialized in the literature relative to interpersonal or human-human co-sleeping, receiving little attention from an interdisciplinary psychological perspective. In this paper, we provide a historical outline of the “civilizing process” that has led to current sociocultural conceptions of sleep as an individual, private function crucial for the functioning of society and the health of individuals. We identify similar historical processes at work in the formation of contemporary constructions of socially normative sleeping arrangements for humans and animals. Importantly, since previous examinations of co-sleeping practices have anthropocentrically framed this topic, the result is an incomplete understanding of co-sleeping practices. By using dogs as an exemplar of human-animal co-sleeping, and comparing human-canine sleeping with adult-child co-sleeping, we determine that both forms of co-sleeping share common factors for establishment and maintenance, and often result in similar benefits and drawbacks. We propose that human-animal and adult-child co-sleeping should be approached as legitimate and socially relevant forms of co-sleeping, and we recommend that co-sleeping be approached broadly as a social practice involving relations with humans and other animals. Because our proposition is speculative and derived from canine-centric data, we recommend ongoing theoretical refinement grounded in empirical research addressing co-sleeping between humans and multiple animal species.
... Consequently, infants who sleep solitarily have higher levels of distress caused by having to alert the mother by reaching higher levels of negative vocalizations (Beijers et al., 2013). However, according to Keller and Goldberg (2004), children who sleep solitarily were found to fall asleep by themselves, sleep through the night alone, and to wean from the breast at an earlier age than did reactive or early cosleepers. Goldberg and Keller (2007) suggested that preferences regarding sleeping are conditioned by the social environment. ...
... This conditioning of sleep preferences calls attention to the need for a match between sleep practices and parental values (Goldberg & Keller, 2007). Indeed, Keller and Goldberg (2004) postulated that early co-sleeping refers to co-sleeping beginning in infancy, and reactive co-sleeping starts after the age of 12 months. The parents bring their child into their bed as a reaction to existing sleep problems, whether out of desperation or convenience (Keller & Goldberg, 2004). ...
... Indeed, Keller and Goldberg (2004) postulated that early co-sleeping refers to co-sleeping beginning in infancy, and reactive co-sleeping starts after the age of 12 months. The parents bring their child into their bed as a reaction to existing sleep problems, whether out of desperation or convenience (Keller & Goldberg, 2004). According to Mindell, Telofski, Wiegand, and Kurtz (2009), a consistent bedtime routine results in shorter sleep-onset latency, increased sleep consolidation, and decreased wakefulness after sleep onset. ...
The central aim of this study was to expand a limited body of knowledge on the complex relationship between breast-feeding, co-sleeping, and somatic complaints in early childhood. An opportunity sample of 98 parents from the general population with children aged 18 to 60 months consented to participate in the study. Each parent completed a series of questionnaires measuring somatic complaints, sleep problems, co-sleeping, breast-feeding, and demographic factors. Findings indicated that co-sleeping was associated with increased somatic complaints and that breast-feeding associated with decreased somatic complaints. Co-sleeping also was found to be associated with an increase in sleep problems. Boys demonstrated significantly higher levels of sleep problems than did girls. These findings highlight the relationship between co-sleeping during early childhood, which could have implications for prevention, treatment, and intervention regarding somatic complaints and sleep problems in early childhood.
... Proactive co-sleepers intentionally encourage parent-child bed-sharing from birth onward, and this is often informed by cultural beliefs, breastfeeding convenience, or practical nighttime caregiving (Mileva-Seitz et al., 2017), to maintain physical proximity to the child, support the child's emotional needs, and respond to child sleep difficulties (Andre et al., 2021;Bastida-Pozuelo et al., 2018;Mileva-Seitz et al., 2017). Reactive co-sleepers bed-share with their child in response to seemingly extraneous factors or problematic circumstances, such as perceived poor child sleep patterns (Mileva-Seitz et al., 2017), parental sleep disturbance, or undiagnosed physical/psychological issues underlying the sleep disturbance, wherein the child may return to bedsharing after having endured a period of solitary sleep from infancy (Keller & Goldberg, 2004). ...
... The Sleep Practices Questionnaire (Keller & Goldberg, 2004) was adapted with permission from the authors to gather information on co-sleeping preference and satisfaction. Key questions selected for this research were the following: "Did you always plan to sleep with your child?" (yes/no, open text for reason); "If you answered no to the previous question, tell us why did you change your plan" (open text); "Is your infant/child's current sleep location the place that you most prefer for him/her to sleep?" (Yes, definitely my preference/Yes, to some extent my preference/No, not my preference, open text for why); and "How satisfied are you with your infant/child's current sleep location?" ...
Objective
The study objective was to understand intentions, sleep location preferences, and satisfaction with co‐sleeping (including bed‐sharing) arrangements in an internet‐based sample of self‐identified co‐sleeping parents.
Background
Western‐centric ideologies favor independent, self‐regulated, and consolidated sleep. Safe‐sleep recommendations advise against all forms of parent–child bed‐sharing while promoting room‐sharing. Co‐sleeping including bed‐sharing and room‐sharing is widely practiced globally and rates continue to increase in Western countries. Yet perspectives of co‐sleeping parents remain under‐researched.
Method
A cross‐sectional study design was used to understand co‐sleeping parents' ( n = 3,146) intentions, preferences, and satisfaction with co‐sleeping (room‐sharing and bed‐sharing) choices through a survey.
Results
Co‐sleeping practices were nuanced and varied with parents and children transitioning between sleep location and surfaces through the night. Although 64% of parents did not intend to co‐sleep before the birth of their child, 88% preferred the current co‐sleeping location, and 81% indicated satisfaction with it. Parental intention to co‐sleep (including bed‐share) was related to satisfaction with the arrangement. Parents who did not prefer any co‐sleeping arrangement at the current time were likely to be parenting older children. A thematic analysis yielded themes relating to the motivations underlying intent and preference, as well as reluctance and dissatisfaction with co‐sleeping arrangements.
Conclusion
Co‐sleeping including bed‐sharing continues to be practiced by parents in Western countries. Despite a lack of intent to engage with co‐sleeping including bed‐sharing, the majority of the parents in this sample were bed‐sharing with their infants and young children. Parents choose to room‐share and bed‐share for a range of reasons.
Implications
Parents voices highlight the need for safe co‐sleeping including bed‐sharing education. Considerations must be given to parents' perspectives in implementing nighttime infant care practices, including facilitating collaborative discussions with parents to assess and minimize potential risks associated with bed‐sharing.
... Care factors such as co-sleeping, breastfeeding, carrying or skin-to-skin-contact after birth have been mostly studied as single variables, but they can be considered as indicators of a parenting style of proximity. These caregiving acts evoke physical closeness and may predict children's development and optimal psychological and physiological growth (Ball, 2003;Esposito et al., 2013;Keller & Goldberg, 2004). Conversely, there are common care practices associated with less emotional and physical closeness, such as Ignoring Children's Bedtime Crying (ICBC), which is widely used to train children to fall asleep alone (Maute & Perren, 2018, Mindell, Kuhn, Lewin, Meltzer, & Sadeh, 2006Valentin, 2005). ...
... Four out of five parents do not stay with the child during the transition to sleep (Valentin, 2005) and numerous parents use sleep interventions to teach the child to fall asleep alone (Loutzenhiser, Hoffman, & Beatch, 2014;Maute & Perren, 2018). However, staying with the child when falling asleep and giving the child closeness and support has been associated with multiple positive outcomes (Ball, 2003;Keller & Goldberg, 2004;McKenna & McDade, 2005;Mileva-Seitz et al., 2016). Parents' presence works as an external regulator and can reduce infants' distress and fears at night. ...
... Thus, cultural norms impact expectations for infant sleep and lived experiences (Shimizu & Teti, 2018). One study found that children in the United States who bed-shared early in infancy were more self-reliant and displayed more social independence at 36-68 months of age than children who did not bed-share (Keller & Goldberg, 2004). Similarly, a study conducted in Northern Spain found that bedsharing in childhood (ranging from age 2-6) predicted greater confidence, self-esteem, and intimacy in adulthood (Crawford, 1994). ...
... Proactive bed-sharing is generally defined as purposefully or intentionally choosing to bed-share, while reactive bed-sharing is not planning to bed-share, but doing so in response to infant nighttime needs (Messmer, Miller, & Yu, 2012;Ramos, 2003). Studies suggest that the antecedents and correlates of proactive bed-sharing may differ from those of reactive bed-sharing (Keller & Goldberg, 2004;Madansky & Edelbrock, 1990;Tully et al., 2015). Ultimately, it may be that parents who start off the night bed-sharing with their infants engage differently with their infant or have infants with differential responses to nighttime arrangements, whereas parents who begin bed-sharing later in the night navigate different feelings or child behaviors. ...
Parents in the United States increasingly report bed-sharing with their infants (i.e., sleeping on a shared sleep surface), but the relationship between bed-sharing and child socioemotional outcomes are not well understood. The current study examines the links between mother-infant bed-sharing at 3 months and infant affect and behavior during a dyadic challenge task at 6 months. Further, we examine nighttime mother-infant contact at 3 months as a possible mechanism that may mediate linkages between bed-sharing and infant outcomes. Using observational data from a sample of 63 mother-infant dyads, we found that infants who bed-shared for any proportion of the observation period at 3 months displayed significantly more self-regulatory behaviors during the still-face episode of the Still-Face Paradigm (SFP) at 6 months, compared to non-bed-sharing infants. Also, infants of mothers who bed-shared for the entire observation period displayed significantly less negativity during the reunion episode than non-bed-sharing infants. There was no evidence that the relations between mother-infant bed-sharing practices and infant affect and behavior during the SFP were mediated through nighttime mother-infant contact. Results suggest that infant regulation at 6 months postpartum may vary based on early nighttime experiences, with bed-sharing potentially promoting more positive and well-regulated behavior during dyadic interaction.
... The multiplicity of the variables involved such as child's age, sleeping surface (parents' bed, child's bed, a third bed), proximity (from rooming-in to body contact), parental attitudes (intentional vs. reactive), adult (father, mother or both) co-sleeping combination and portion and number of nights per week (Cassels, 2013;Cortesi et al., 2008;Keller & Goldberg, 2004;Luijk et al., 2013;Mileva-Seitz et al., 2017;Santos et al., 2017) perplexes the co-sleeping definition even more. In addition, Santos et al. (2017) identified four possible time-related cosleeping trajectories namely (a) early-only, (b) late-onset, (c) persistent and (d) non bed-sharers. ...
... The adopted conceptualizations insofar, viewed cosleeping as a sleeping arrangement where the child slept either with both parents or with the mother (e.g., Kaymaz et al., 2014;Keller & Goldberg, 2004;Santos et al., 2017;Teti & Crosby, 2012), apparently adhering to the attachment tradition (Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, & Wall, 1978;Bowlby, 1982;Cassidy & Shaver, 2010). However, as Ross, Hinshaw, and Murdock (2016) pointed out, attachment theory "may be overlooking the role of a second parent in psychological well-being" (p. ...
A critical co‐sleeping literature review revealed individualistic and dyadic guided approaches taken insofar, ridden by conflicting results. Thereby, we situated our approach beyond the individual and dyad area where we developed anew a systemic co‐sleeping paradigm, resulting in theoretical and preliminary empirical findings. Initial cross‐gender analyses associated significantly co‐sleeping with Bowen Family Systems Theory's cornerstone constructs. However, once the moderating effect of gender was examined, significance disappeared across the board for females yet persisted for males. Specifically, male‐children time‐persistent co‐sleeping was associated negatively with differentiation and positively with chronic anxiety and other hypothesized maladjustment effects (guilty feelings and abandonment feelings if moved away from parents). Effects drew attention to Bowen's systemic construct of intergenerational emotional fusion. Guided by the empirical associations, we focused on gender development differences literature. We suggest that triangulation processes dynamically embed co‐sleeping within the family systems paradigm, with the embedment appearing to be significantly gendered.
... Conversely, the view of bed sharing impinging on personal space and deterring children's autonomy is consistent with some Western models of sleep and health that place importance on separate sleeping spaces and child independence (M. Keller & Goldberg, 2004). ...
... In contrast, when bed sharing was reactive, due to children's difficulties initiating or maintaining sleep, or was misaligned with parental or wider family beliefs, it was experienced negatively by mothers (M. Keller & Goldberg, 2004). ...
Viewing sleep through a socioecological lens, maternal perceptions, and experiences of preschoolers’ sleep were explored using semistructured interviews with 15 Māori (indigenous) and 16 non-Māori mothers, with low- and high socioeconomic position. Thematic analysis identified four themes: child happiness and health, maternal well-being, comfort and connection, and family functioning and harmony. Mothers perceived healthy preschooler sleep as supporting children’s mental and physical health, parents’ sleep/wake functioning, family social cohesion and emotional connectedness, and poor preschooler sleep as negatively influencing child, maternal and family well-being. Although many experiences were shared, some perceptions of sleep and sleep practices differed between mothers. Influences included health paradigms, socioeconomic circumstances, maternal autonomy, employment, parenting approaches, and societal expectations. Healthy preschooler sleep is valued by mothers and may play a protective role in family health and resilience. Preschooler sleep initiatives need to be responsive to maternal perspectives and address societal drivers of sleep experiences.
... Practices Questionnaire (SPQ; Keller & Goldberg, 2004) at each time point. This measure assesses parent report regarding infant sleep arrangements as well as the degree to which they feel comfortable and supported regarding their choices for their infant's sleep. ...
... Mothers responded on a 5-point Likert-type scale, with 1 corresponding to "not at all satisfied" and 5 signifying "extremely satisfied." The questions regarding maternal attitudes have been shown to have good reliability and validity (Keller & Goldberg, 2004). ...
We examined how maternal care within the bedtime and nighttime contexts influences infant cortisol levels and patterning. Eighty-two mothers (Mage = 29.4 years) and infants participated in a longitudinal study when infants were 3, 6, and 9 months old. At each time point, bedtime and nighttime parenting were recorded and infant cortisol at bedtime and the following morning was analyzed. Multilevel model analyses showed that infants had lower cortisol levels when mothers were more emotionally available at bedtime, and infants whose mothers responded more often to their non-distressed cues had lower cortisol levels on average. Less co-sleeping and more maternal responses to infant distress were linked to healthier cortisol patterning. By shedding light on parenting qualities and behaviors that influence infant cortisol, these results indicate avenues for intervention and suggest the utility of studying parenting in infant sleep contexts.
... For instance, American mothers who reactively bed-shared (in this case, after one year of age, but not in infancy) reported significantly more sleep awakenings and found these awakenings more problematic than mothers who bed-shared from early infancy, or those who did not bed-share [115]. In another American study, both reactive and intentional bed-sharers had higher reported sleep problems (resisting bedtime and night-time awakening) than solitary sleepers but when the scores were weighted for parental perceptions of problematic behavior, reported sleep problems for the intentional bedsharers decreased [46]; furthermore, reactive bed-sharers were the most likely to be dissatisfied with the sleep arrangements. ...
... Carolina were more supportive of children's independence [115]. Once more, the crosssectional and correlational designs of these studies make it difficult to determine how parental intentions, attitudes, and beliefs, influence the extent to which children's behavior is seen as problematic. ...
The practice of parent and child sharing a sleeping surface, or ‘bed-sharing’, is one of the most controversial topics in parenting research. The lay literature has popularized and polarized this debate, offering on one hand claims of dangers, and on the other, of benefits - both physical and psychological - associated with bed-sharing. To address the scientific evidence behind such claims, we systematically reviewed k=659 published papers (peer-reviewed, editorial pieces, and commentaries) on the topic of parent-child bed-sharing. Our review offers a narrative walkthrough of the many subdomains of bed-sharing research, including its many correlates (e.g., socioeconomic and cultural factors) and purported risks or outcomes (e.g., sudden infant death syndrome, sleep problems). We found general design limitations and a lack of convincing evidence in the literature, which preclude making strong generalizations. A heat-map based on k=98 eligible studies aids the reader to visualize world-wide prevalence in bed-sharing and highlights the need for further research in societies where bed-sharing is the norm. We urge for multiple subfields - Anthropology, Psychology/Psychiatry, and Pediatrics - to come together with the aim of understanding infant sleep and how nightly proximity to the parents influences children’s social, emotional, and physical development.
... Literature has also examined why parents begin co-sleeping, distinguishing between proactive (co-sleeping as a conscious choice) and reactive (intended on solitary sleeping but co-slept in reaction to other factors) co-sleeping, finding that intentionality can influence perceptions on how co-sleeping affects maternal and child sleep (Keller & Goldberg, 2004;McKenna & Volpe, 2007;Mileva-Seitz et al., 2017;Ramos et al., 2007). ...
Parent–child co‐sleeping is a common practice in many cultures, although in Western countries, families who engage in parent–child co‐sleeping can encounter attitudes about co‐sleeping that feel critical from the people around them, as it is not commonly accepted and often stigmatized. This systematic scoping review examined and synthesized the available literature on the attitudes about parent–child co‐sleeping that people encounter, their origins, and their effect on parents' own attitudes and behaviors. A total of 9796 abstracts were screened, and 33 studies were included. While the scope of the literature on this topic was narrow, this review demonstrated that parents/caregivers mostly encounter encouraging attitudes about co‐sleeping from their extended family members and within their culture and discouraging attitudes from healthcare professionals. Findings suggest that encouraging attitudes enhance the likelihood of parents engaging and continuing with co‐sleeping behavior, while discouraging attitudes can lead to the avoidance of parents discussing sleep with their healthcare professionals and can cause conflicts with other family members, including partners. Based on these findings, we conclude that further research is needed in several areas related to co‐sleeping in Western culture, most specifically in how external attitudes influence the decision to co‐sleep, as well as other behaviors and cognitions such as engagement with healthcare professionals, family satisfaction, parental self‐efficacy, and overall mental health.
... These findings are consistent with prior work documenting higher bed-sharing rates for any reason for those reporting Black race and ethnicity [5,6,28] and add to the mixed results for Hispanic race and ethnicity [7,8,10]. These sociodemographic correlates of bedsharing suggest, as argued by other investigators [12,38], that this sleep practice is influenced by an interplay of child reluctance, family/parenting and cultural/subcultural factors. Although our assessment explicitly inquired about reactive bed-sharing due to child reluctance to sleep alone, some families in our sample may have been bed-sharing for additional reasons including bed/crib availability, warmth, and protection against neighborhood violence [39,40] and as a way to preserve a sense of culture and/or as a family tradition which was practiced by parents and grandparents [40,41]. ...
Objective
To advance understanding of early childhood bed-sharing and its clinical significance, we examined reactive bed-sharing rates, sociodemographic correlates, persistence, and concurrent and longitudinal associations with sleep disturbances and psychopathology.
Methods
Data from a representative cohort of 917 children (mean age 3.8 years) recruited from primary pediatric clinics in a Southeastern city for a preschool anxiety study were used. Sociodemographics and diagnostic classifications for sleep disturbances and psychopathology were obtained using the Preschool Age Psychiatric Assessment (PAPA), a structured diagnostic interview administered to caregivers. A subsample of 187 children was re-assessed approximately 24.7 months after the initial PAPA interview.
Results
Reactive bed-sharing was reported by 38.4% of parents, 22.9% nightly and 15.5% weekly, and declined with age. At follow-up, 48.9% of nightly bed-sharers and 88.7% of weekly bed-sharers were no longer bed-sharing. Sociodemographics associated with nightly bed-sharing were Black and (combined) American Indian, Alaska Native and Asian race and ethnicity, low income and parent education less than high school. Concurrently, bed-sharing nightly was associated with separation anxiety and sleep terrors; bed-sharing weekly was associated with sleep terrors and difficulty staying asleep. No longitudinal associations were found between reactive bed-sharing and sleep disturbances or psychopathology after controlling for sociodemographics, baseline status of the outcome and time between interviews.
Conclusions
Reactive bed-sharing is relatively common among preschoolers, varies significantly by sociodemographic factors, declines during the preschool years and is more persistent among nightly than weekly bed-sharers. Reactive bed-sharing may be an indicator of sleep disturbances and/or anxiety but there is no evidence that bed-sharing is an antecedent or consequence of sleep disturbances or psychopathology.
... One family-related factor affecting childhood sleep is cosleeping or sharing a bed with a parent [108]. Cosleeping is correlated with higher rates of nighttime sleep deficiency [109], including later bedtimes, shorter sleep duration [110], bedtime resistance, sleep anxiety, parasomnias [111], frequent and disruptive night awakening [112,113], and behavior problems [114]. Furthermore, long-term children who were cosleepers still maintained sleep problems for an additional year postinitial interview compared to nonco-sleepers and children who stopped cosleeping [113]. ...
Background
Sleep problem is a highly prevalent health issue among pediatric populations across the world. In this review, we aimed to identify risk factors contributing to sleep deficiency and poor sleep hygiene in children. Potential biological, psychosocial, and environmental mechanisms as well as research gaps in the literature are also discussed.Data sourcesA comprehensive search for relevant English language full-text, peer-reviewed publications was performed focusing on pediatric sleep studies from prenatal to childhood and adolescence in a variety of indexes in PubMed, SCOPUS, and Psych Info. Both relevant data based and systematic reviews are included.ResultsThis paper summarizes many risk factors for childhood sleep problems, including biological (e.g., genetics, gender, age and puberty, prenatal factors, postnatal factors); nutritional (e.g., macronutrients, micronutrients, omega-3 fatty acids, obesity); environmental (e.g., heavy metals, noise, light, air pollution); interpersonal (e.g., family, exposure to violence, screen media use, physical injury); and community/socioeconomic variables (e.g., racial/ethnicity and cultural factors, neighborhood conditions and socioeconomic status, school factors, public health disasters/emergencies), to better understand the development of sleep problems in children.Conclusions
Poor childhood sleep is a multifactorial issue affected by a wide range of prenatal and early-life biological, environmental, and psychosocial risk factors and contributors. A better understanding of these risk factors and their mechanisms is an important first step to develop future research and prevention programs focusing on pediatric sleep problems.
... A stand-alone item from the Sleep Practice Questionnaire (SPQ; Keller & Goldberg, 2004) was used to understand parental comfort regarding their infant's sleep arrangement. The 62item SPQ assesses parent-report infant sleep arrangement and parental perceptions around that arrangement. ...
The present study of 124 families examined linkages between patterns of sleep arrangement use across the first 6 months post-partum and (a) family socio-demographics, (b) nighttime sleep of infants, mothers, and fathers, and (c) coparenting distress, and mothers’ emotional availability with infants and bedtime. Families were recruited when infants were 1-month-old, and infants were classified, from video data available at 3 and 6 months post-partum, into one of three sleep arrangement pattern groups: Solitary sleep, cosleeping, and cosleeping (at 3 months)-to-solitary sleep (at 6 months). Mothers in cosleeping arrangements were more likely to be at higher socioeconomic risk, non-White, unemployed, and to have completed fewer years of education. Controlling for these variables and for duration of breast feeding and parental depressive and anxiety symptoms, subsequent 3 (sleep arrangement pattern) X 2 (infant age: 3 and 6 months) mixed-model analyses of covariance revealed that sleep arrangement patterns were more robustly linked with maternal sleep than with infant and father sleep. Mothers in cosleeping arrangements experienced more fragmented sleep and greater variability in fragmented sleep relative to mothers of infants in solitary sleep, and fathers in cosleeping arrangements showed greater variability across the week in the number of minutes of nighttime sleep. Cosleeping was associated with mother reports of less positive and more negative coparenting, and mothers in cosleeping arrangements were independently observed to be less emotionally available with their infants at bedtime compared to mothers in the other two sleep arrangement groups. These linkages were largely upheld after statistically controlling for mothers’ stated preference for sleep arrangements they were using.
... Despite the likely deep evolutionary history of breastsleeping and family sleep proximity in the hominin lineage, dominant cultural traditions in the USA and some Western European societies came to value infant sleep and feeding practices in which formula, bottle fed infants were put to sleep alone in cribs in rooms by themselves [6,11]. Getting infants to sleep through the night early in the post-partum also became entrenched as a culturally emphasized priority, particularly related to notions of establishing child independence, and, aligning with these values, the parental bed was often viewed as a site for adult (uninterrupted) sleep and conjugal privacy [6,11,[19][20][21][22]. Ultimately, the concomitant prevalence of solitary sleep practices and decrease in breastfeeding in the mid-to-late 20th century in the USA and elsewhere created a potential mismatch between infants' evolved sleep physiology and the culturally shaped nighttime sleep ecologies to which many were exposed [6,11,13,14]. ...
Background and objectives:
Evolutionary-grounded sleep research has been critical to establishing the mutual dependence of breastfeeding and nighttime sleep proximity for mothers and infants. Evolutionary perspectives on cosleeping also often emphasize the emotional motivations for and potential benefits of sleep proximity, including for parent-infant bonding. However, this potential link between infant sleep location and bonding remains understudied for both mothers and fathers. Moreover, in Euro-American contexts bedsharing has been linked to family stress and difficult child temperament, primarily via maternal reports. We know relatively little about whether paternal psychosocial dynamics differ based on family sleep arrangements, despite fathers and other kin often being present in the cosleeping environment across cultures. Here, we aim to help address some of these gaps in knowledge pertaining to fathers and family sleep arrangements.
Methodology:
Drawing on a sample of Midwestern U.S. fathers (N=195), we collected sociodemographic and survey data to analyze links between infant nighttime sleep location, paternal psychosocial well-being, father-infant bonding, and infant temperament. From fathers' reports, families were characterized as routinely solitary sleeping, bedsharing, or roomsharing (without bedsharing).
Results:
We found that routinely roomsharing or bedsharing fathers, respectively, reported stronger bonding than solitary sleepers. Bedsharing fathers also reported that their infants had more negative temperaments and also tended to report greater parenting-related stress due to difficulties with their children.
Conclusions:
These cross-sectional results help to highlight how a practice with deep phylogenetic and evolutionary history, such as cosleeping, can be variably expressed within communities with the potential for family-dependent benefits or strains.
... At the same time, previous studies suggested a predictive role of cosleeping during early childhood on future confidence and self-esteem (e.g. Keller & Goldberg, 2004;Crawford, 1994). More recently, a study suggested that co-sleeping during infancy could play a potential role in promoting more positive and well-regulated behavior during dyadic interaction (Lerner et al., 2020). ...
Objective:
During childhood sleep duration, quality and patterns evolve and change greatly and relate strongly to healthy development. This systematic review aims to summarize the literature on sleep characteristics in the Italian pediatric population, adopting a cultural perspective.
Method:
Pubmed, PsycINFO and Medline databases were systematically searched. Eligible studies had to: include Italian children and adolescents; report data for one or more sleep-related variables; be published in English or Italian.
Results:
Twenty-nine studies were selected including 18551 Italian children or adolescents. Studies were categorized by age group: infancy and toddlerhood (0-3 years); preschool and school age (3-12 years); adolescence (12-18 years) and mixed age groups. Overall, studies showed that the Italian pediatric population present shorter sleep duration and longer sleep onset latency compared to international recommendations. Furthermore, data indicate high prevalence of dysfunctional sleep habits, such as late bed-time (all age groups), involvement of parents during bed-time (infancy and toddlerhood), and high variability between sleep times on week-days vs. weekends (adolescence). Nevertheless, most studies lacked comprehensive data on sleep patterns, focusing instead on isolated variables.
Conclusion:
These results suggest a strong trend among Italian children and adolescents towards unhealthy sleep patterns. Comprehensive data are still lacking and large studies evaluating a broad range of sleep characteristics in Italian pediatric populations are needed. Data strongly suggest that Italian Pediatric Primary Care should place higher focus on sleep problems and implement clinical protocols directed towards improving sleep patterns in children and adolescents.
... All studies defined bed sharing as the sharing of sleep surface between parents/parent and infant. Most studies classified bed sharing and sleep arrangements using standardized tools, including the Sleep Practices Questionnaire (SPQ) [30] and the Sleeping Arrangement Questionnaire (SAQ) [19], the latter of which incorporated items from of Ramos' Family Sleep Survey [31]. The most commonly used instrument to measure marital satisfaction and sexual relationship was the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS [32]), which was employed in short or full version in three quantitative studies [19,33]. ...
Bed sharing—the sharing of a sleeping surface by parents and children—is a common, yet controversial, practice. While most research has focused on the public health aspect of this practice, much less is known regarding its effect on the marital relationship. The aim of the present study was to conduct a scoping review on the impact of parent–infant bed sharing sleeping practices on the sexual and marital relationship of couples. The qualitative synthesis of six studies on this topic suggests that overall, bed sharing does not exert a significant negative impact on family functioning; when it does, it appears to be related to incongruent parental beliefs and expectations, especially when bed sharing is not an intentional choice of sleep arrangement, and there are other confounding factors such as fatigue and psychological distress. Suggestions for future studies and clinical implications are discussed.
... However, few studies assessed paternal and maternal emotional health as independent factors. To our knowledge, few studies addressed the effect parental emotional disturbance can leave on children's sleep, and none in the Mediterranean region [27][28][29]. Given the very difficult socio-economic crisis Lebanese people are facing secondary to COVID-19 pandemic, on top of the increased prevalence of depression and anxiety after the blast that hit Beirut on August 4, 2020, it is highly important to highlight the effect of parental anxiety and depression on sleep pattern in children, given the social and emotional impact it can leave on children's everyday life, as well on the learning disabilities it can leave [30]. ...
Background: Sleep habits are an important component of a child’s health and it is affected by parent-child relationship. Also, child’s diet and nutrition appear to be an important factor affecting sleep health. Few studies have addressed the effect of parental emotional disturbance that can leave on children’s sleep. Therefore, the objective of our study was to assess the prevalence of sleep disorders in pre- and school-aged children and evaluate its relation with parental mental health and child’s nutrition and activity.
Methods: A cross-sectional study, conducted between October 2020 and January 2021, which enrolled 402 Lebanese parents from all over Lebanon. The questionnaire was distributed online using the snowball technique. The Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire (PSQ) was used to assess pediatric sleep behaviors and the Family Nutrition and physical activity questionnaire was used to assess parental behaviors that might predispose children for obesity.
Results: A total of 76 (19%) children had sleep disorders (PSQ scores of 8 or more). The multivariable analysis showed that higher paternal depression (Beta=0.079, p=0.010), maternal depression (Beta=0.089, p=0.001) and higher anxiety in the father (Beta=0.064, p=0.021) were significantly associated with higher PSQ scores (worse sleep) in the child. Higher Family Nutrition and Physical Activity Screening Tool scores in the child (Beta=-0.161, p<0.001) was significantly associated with lower PSQ scores (better sleep).
Conclusion: Paternal anxiety and depression, as well as maternal depression, were factors associated with children’s sleeping disorders. Future studies are needed to assess parental influence on child’s development.
... 4Demographic variables (infant sex, maternal education-high school and professional vs. university) were measured. Sleep-related parental practices known to be associated with infant sleep (feeding method: exclusive breastfeeding, non-exclusive breastfeeding, absence of breastfeeding; sleep location: co-sleeping or solitary sleeping) were assessed with the Sleep Practices Questionnaire (SPQ).18,19 Mothers were asked: "Where does your baby usually sleep at night?" Solitary sleeping was defined as: "In his/her own room alone all night" or "In a bedroom shared with a sibling all night". ...
... Items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (not at all a problem) to 5 (definitely a problem). 17,18 A composite variable was created by averaging the responses to the following 3 items: ...
Study objectives:
To investigate whether the interaction between infant negative affectivity and maternal depressive symptoms is associated with the degree to which mothers perceive infant sleep to be problematic at six months postpartum, independent of infant sleep and sociodemographic factors.
Methods:
Infant negative affectivity and maternal depressive symptoms were assessed in a sample of 59 mother-infant dyads at 6 months postpartum using standardized measures. Mothers reported the degree to which they perceived their infant's sleep to be problematic via an item composite of the Sleep Practices Questionnaire. Nocturnal infant sleep variables (duration, number of awakenings) were retrieved from a two-week infant sleep diary (maternal report).
Results:
There was a significant interaction between infant negative affectivity and maternal depressive symptoms in predicting mothers' perceived extent of infant sleep problems. Simple slope analysis showed that high levels of depression were related to higher maternal perception of infant sleep problem scores only among mothers of infants with high levels of negative affectivity. Moreover, infant negative affectivity and maternal depressive symptoms positively predicted perception scores after adjustment for infant sleep, maternal age, and parity (p<.05).
Conclusions:
The current study provides evidence that high levels of maternal depression combined with high levels of infant negative affectivity may contribute to mothers' perceptions of infant sleep problems, independent of infant sleep duration and awakenings. These findings highlight the importance for pediatricians and other health professionals to consider infant temperament in conjunction with mother's depressive symptoms when addressing mothers' concerns about infant sleep problems.
... The questionnaire about sleep-related practices during the postpartum period (adapted from the Sleep Practice Questionnaire ;Germo et al., 2007;Keller & Goldberg, 2004) was used to obtain information about breastfeeding (never, sometimes or always) and infant sleep location (infant sleeps in own room alone or in a room with sibling; infant sleeps in parents' room in a crib; infant sleeps in own room alone or in a room with sibling, but sleeps in parents' bed 1-2 times/ week; infant sleeps in parents' room in a crib, but sleeps in parents' bed 1-2 times/week; infant sleeps in parents' room in a crib, but sleeps in parents' bed ≥3 times/week). ...
Sleep disruption and deprivation are highly prevalent among parents of an infant. However, most postpartum sleep studies focus solely on mothers, and few studies have investigated whether sleep differs between first‐time and experienced parents. The present study aimed to determine whether self‐reported sleep duration and quality differ between first‐time and experienced mothers and fathers during the postpartum period. A total of 111 parents (54 couples and three single mothers) of 6‐month‐old infants completed a 2‐week sleep diary to evaluate measures of sleep duration, sleep continuity, and sleep quality. An analysis of covariance model was used to compare the sleep variables of first‐time to experienced parents. Breastfeeding frequency, infant sleep location, depression, education, and work status were used as co‐variables. First‐time mothers reported a longer consecutive nocturnal sleep duration (mean [SEM] 297.34 [17.15] versus 246.01 [14.79] min, p < .05), fewer nocturnal awakenings (mean [SEM] 1.57 [0.20] versus 2.12 [0.17], p < .05), and rated their sleep quality higher (mean [SEM] score 7.07 [0.36] versus 5.97 [0.30], p < .05) than experienced mothers, while total nocturnal sleep duration did not differ. There were no differences in subjective sleep measures between first‐time and experienced fathers. The present study indicates that experienced mothers reported more fragmented sleep and perceived having worse sleep quality than first‐time mothers, but that paternal sleep did not differ as a function of parental experience. These findings have clinical implications for healthcare professionals working with families of various configurations and sizes.
... 4Demographic variables (infant sex, maternal education-high school and professional vs. university) were measured. Sleep-related parental practices known to be associated with infant sleep (feeding method: exclusive breastfeeding, non-exclusive breastfeeding, absence of breastfeeding; sleep location: co-sleeping or solitary sleeping) were assessed with the Sleep Practices Questionnaire (SPQ).18,19 Mothers were asked: "Where does your baby usually sleep at night?" Solitary sleeping was defined as: "In his/her own room alone all night" or "In a bedroom shared with a sibling all night". ...
Objective
There are substantial inter-individual differences in infants’ longest consecutive sleep duration. However, intra-individual differences are rarely considered. The present study aimed to describe night-to-night variability in achieving 6 or 8 h of consolidated sleep over a 13-night period in 6-month-old infants.
Methods
Forty-four typically developing infants were part of the study (22 girls). When infants were 6 months old, mothers were asked to complete an infant sleep diary over 13 nights to measure the longest period of uninterrupted sleep each night. Two criteria were used to determine if infants were sleeping through the night: 6 and 8 h of uninterrupted sleep.
Results
On average, mothers reported that their infant slept 6 h consecutively for about 5 nights out of 13. Nine infants (20.5%) never slept 6 h consecutively, three (6.8%) met the criterion every night, but most infants (n = 32; 72.7%) showed high variability between the nights. Mothers reported that their infant slept 8 h consecutively for about 3 nights out of 13. Half of the infants (50.0%) never slept 8 h consecutively, one infant (2.3%) slept 8 h consecutively every night, and twenty-one infants (47.7%) showed high variability.
Conclusions
These findings expand current knowledge by showing that there is not only high inter-individual variability, but also high intra-individual variability in infant sleep consolidation. Parents and clinicians should be aware that occasional sleeping through the night does not necessarily indicate a consolidation of this behavior.
... This discrepancy suggests that, despite the disturbances that bed partners create, they may be fulfilling a psychological need for feeling safe and secure during sleep periods [44]. It is important to add that human movement caused by dogs or other bed partners does not necessarily mean that sleep is being disrupted in a meaningful way [45]. For example, disruptions of short durations may not lead to daytime impairments. ...
Humans regularly enter into co-sleeping arrangements with human and non-human partners. Studies of adults who co-sleep report that co-sleeping can impact sleep quality, particularly for women. Although dog owners often choose to bedshare with their dogs, we know relatively little about the nature of these relationships, nor the extent to which co-sleeping might interfere with sleep quality or quantity. In an effort to rectify this, we selected a sample of 12 adult female human (M = 50.8 years) and dog dyads, and monitored their activity using actigraphy. We collected movement data in one-minute epochs for each sleep period for an average of 10 nights per participant. This resulted in 124 nights of data, covering 54,533 observations (M = 7.3 hours per night). In addition, we collected subjective sleep diary data from human participants. We found a significant positive relationship between human and dog movement over sleep periods, with dogs influencing human movement more than humans influenced dog movement. Dog movement accompanied approximately 50% of human movement observations, and dog movement tripled the likelihood of the human transitioning from a non-moving state to a moving state. Nevertheless, humans rarely reported that their dog disrupted their sleep. We encourage the continued exploration of human-animal co-sleeping in all its facets and provide recommendations for future research in this area.
... Banyak kajian tentang corak aturan tidur dalam kalangan kanak-kanak yang telah dijalankan di seluruh dunia (Ball, 2007;Keller & Goldberg, 2004;Huang et al., 2010;Goldberg & Keller, 2007;Germo et al., 2007, Hayes et al., 2007Chou, 2009;Jain et al., 2011;Krouse et al., 2012;Rigda et al., 2000;Javo et al., 2004;Okami, 1995). Corak aturan tidur merujuk pada lokasi di mana kanak-kanak tidur terutama pada waktu malam. ...
akan mempengaruhi bagaimana pengurusan tidur kanak-kanak dan sekaligus mempengaruhi kuantiti dan kualiti tidur mereka. Kajian ini bertujuan untuk menilai aspek psikometrik bagi instrumen Parental Sleep Attitudes Scale (PSAS) versi bahasa Melayu. Instrumen ini digunakan untuk mengukur sikap dan pandangan ibu terhadap corak aturan tidur kanak-kanak. Instrumen ini terbahagi kepada dua komponen yang mengukur sikap terhadap corak tidur bersendirian dan tidur bersama. Keseluruhan skala mengandungi 16 item. PSAS telah diterjemahkan ke dalam bahasa Melayu dengan menggunakan prosedur back to back translation yang diperkenalkan oleh Brislin. Responden dalam kajian ini terdiri daripada 154 ibu bekerja di sekitar Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. Keputusan exploratory factor analysis (EFA) mendapati 15 daripada 16 item tersebut adalah diterima kerana nilai factor loading melebihi 0.6. Walau bagaimanapun, daripada enam komponen yang terbentuk, hanya komponen 1 dan 2 sahaja yang mempunyai nilai alpha cronbach minimum 0.7 dan memenuhi syarat yang ditetapkan. Ini bermakna, untuk konteks tempatan, instrumen ini perlu disusun komponen dan itemnya kembali sebelum digunakan untuk tujuan kajian yang sebenar. Kata kunci: psikologi keibubapaan, corak aturan tidur, kanak-kanak, ibu bekerja, exploratory factor analysis ABSTRACT Sleep is a vital necessity need for children. Without enough sleep, a child's development as a whole will disturbed. The quality of sleep in children affected by sleep arrangement that selected by their parent or caregiver. Sleep arrangement refers to the location where a child sleep. Given that children are individuals who still depend on their parents or caregivers, the attitude of the parents or caregivers toward sleep pattern and arrangement will affect how children sleep management and thus affect the quantity and quality of their sleep. The purpose of the study was to assess
... It is important to point out, however, that human movement caused by the dog does not necessarily indicate that sleep is being disrupted, or is negatively impacted in a meaningful way. Less severe awakenings or short-duration disruptions, for instance (see Keller & Goldberg, 2004), may not be enough to cause significant daytime impairment. Therefore, the use of validated sleep scales may provide useful insight. ...
This exploratory study aimed to contribute to the limited research on human–animal co-sleeping by investigating the extent to which human sleep is disturbed by co-sleeping with a dog. Five female Australian dog owners and their dogs were fitted with activity monitors for seven nights. Raw activity of the dog and human for each sleep episode were matched and then compared using a time series correlation. Dog movement was a significant leading indicator of human movement, with dog activity positively indicating human activity up to 2.5 minutes in advance. Dogs were active for about 20% of the night, with humans 4.3 times more likely to be awake during dog activity than during dog inactivity (10.55%/2.45%). Co-sleeping appears to cause sleep disturbances (both arousals and wake ups), which is reinforced by poor scores on validated sleep measures. There also appears to be disparity between these objective measures and subjective evaluations of sleep quality and number of disturbances. At least in the small sample considered in the present study, co-sleeping with a dog appears to result in measurable, but relatively mild, reductions in overall sleep quality. This detrimental impact must be weighed against the benefits of co-sleeping.
... Engaging parents in a discussion of whether cosleeping is a preference or a result of poor sleep outcomes helps identify possible directions for conversation and support. For example, the infant characteristics related to cosleeping in this study suggest reactive cosleeping, with mothers engaging in cosleeping in response to infant sleep difficulties (Keller & Goldberg, 2004). However, because cosleeping reported did not include duration of cosleeping, mothers may have brought infants to bed during the night as a way to help infants settle or soothe. ...
Background and purpose:
Based on the Women, Work, and Wee Ones longitudinal study, mothers' likelihood of breastfeeding is examined across demographic and health variables.
Methods:
Frequencies of breastfeeding and cosleeping by 285 mothers from the Women, Work, and Wee Ones cohort are reported as related to mothers' work schedule, marital status, or mother or infant health.
Conclusions:
Breastfeeding rates were about 30% across most maternal characteristics. The frequency of mothers' breastfeeding was higher when mothers were both breastfeeding and cosleeping (breastfeeding-cosleeping), in comparison with breastfeeding only, as evident for mothers with nonstandard work schedules. Cosleeping was common across all mothers. Breastfeeding rates were low, perhaps reflecting challenges of early care. Premature infants were more likely to be cosleeping than breastfeeding. Approximately 30% of mothers breastfed across the different factors examined.
Implications for practice:
The information may help nurse practitioners in addressing early care needs and supporting breastfeeding across groups. Younger mothers were least likely to breastfeed and reported higher frequency of cosleeping. Overall breastfeeding frequency was higher when mothers were cosleeping. Nurse practitioners may find it important to provide clear information about safe infant sleep and safe approaches to protecting infants.
... Aspek pengasuhan yang mendukung kemandirian anak terdiri dari aspek kontrol, pemberian kesempatan, direktif, responsif, dan komunikasi (Aldridge, 2010; Dashif, Riley, Abdullatif & Moreland, 2011;Gilmore, Cuskelly, Jobling & Hayes, 2009;Gormley-Flemming & Campbell, 2011;Nunes & Dupas, 2011;Shogren et al., 2007). Pengaruh pengasuhan terhadap kemandirian telah terbukti dalam banyak penelitian (antara lain: Aldridge, 2010; Dewanggi, Hastuti & Hernawati, 2012;Holden, 2010;Keller & Goldberg, 2004;Lim, 2010;Mill, Mayes & McConnell, 2009;Stright, Herr & Neitzel, 2009). ...
This study aimed to investigate that parental care as a mediator for the value of children influenced the independence of children with down syndrome (DS). The subject of research were 57 children DS who have an IQ score at least 25, living with parents, have no motor disorders, both on the hands or feet. The research method used quantitative method. The data analized with path analysis. Results of the study found that parental care was proven to be the mediator for the value of children in influenced the independence of children with DS.
... Although typically limited to only subjective parent-reported sleep disturbances, numerous crosssectional studies in school-aged children find co-sleeping to be a risk factor for sleep problems. For example, co-sleeping has been related to greater night awakenings (Cortesi et al. 2004;Keller and Goldberg 2004;Mindell et al. 2009), shorter sleep duration (Cortesi et al. 2008), more bedtime resistance (Cortesi et al. 2008;Jiang et al. 2016), poor sleep quality (Jiang et al. 2016) and more daytime sleepiness (Jiang et al. 2016;Liu et al. 2003). ...
Little is known about the co-sleeping behaviors of school-aged children, particularly among anxious youth who commonly present for the treatment of sleep problems. The current study examined the occurrence of co-sleeping in both healthy and clinically anxious children and its associated sleep patterns. A total of 113 children (ages 6–12), 75 with primary generalized anxiety disorder and 38 healthy controls, participated along with their primary caregiver. Families completed structured diagnostic assessments, and parents reported on their child’s co-sleeping behaviors and anxiety severity. Children provided reports of anxiety severity and completed one week of wrist-based actigraphy to assess objective sleep patterns. A significantly greater proportion of anxious youth compared to healthy children co-slept, and greater anxiety severity was related to more frequent co-sleeping. Co-sleeping in anxious youth was associated with a delay in sleep timing and with greater sleep variability (i.e., more variable nightly sleep duration). All analyses controlled for child age, race/ethnicity, family income, and parental marital status. Co-sleeping is highly common in anxious school-aged children, with more than 1 in 3 found to co-sleep at least sometimes (2–4 times a week). Co-sleeping was even more common for youth with greater anxiety severity. Increased dependence on others to initiate and maintain sleep may contribute to poorer sleep in this population via shifted schedules and more variable sleep patterns.
... Certain professionals claim that co-sleeping of mother and child is responsible for risks such as hyperthermia, suffocation, jamming, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and the danger of mother hurting her child while sleeping (Buswell&Spatz,2007).Some research suggest that an older child who keeps returning into the parents' bed exhibits more problems related to sleep than those whofor a long time continually sleep alone. It is recommended that health care professionals together with parents assess the child's sleep patterns and on the basis of findings decide whether the problem is truly connected to sleep (Keller & Goldberg, 2004). There are numerous behavioural problems that aggravate a child's healthy sleep. ...
... Mothers participating in the research project were asked to complete a packet of questionnaires including the Sleep Practices Questionnaire [27], the Attachment Q-Sort [28], and the Maternal Separation Anxiety Questionnaire [29]. This information was not included in this set of analyses. ...
... Keller and Goldberg's research into the differences between families using solitary sleeping, intentional co-sleeping (those who choose to co-sleep and usually from an early age) and reactive co-sleeping (those who co-sleep to ease child sleep disturbances) found the success parents experienced with their chosen sleep practice depended on their beliefs, parenting styles and goals rather than the practice itself. 75 Similarly, reactive co-sleeping mothers held positive views about both solitary sleep and co-sleeping, and were more likely to view their child's sleep as problematic, whereas solitary sleeping mothers and intentionally co-sleeping mothers only viewed their respective practices more favorably and were less likely to view their child's sleep as problematic. While this research focused on solitary and co-sleeping arrangements it may be applicable to sleep intervention practices too. ...
The majority of behavioral sleep interventions for young children involve extinction procedures where parents must ignore their child's cries for a period. Many parents have difficulties with this, contributing to attrition, non-compliance, and treatment avoidance. Yet why these methods are difficult to implement has rarely been addressed in the literature. This paper discusses seven potential reasons why parents may find extinction sleep interventions difficult: enduring crying, practical considerations, fear of repercussions, misinformation, incongruence with personal beliefs, different cultural practices, and parent wellness. These reasons are discussed in relation to the current literature. Practicing health professionals and sleep researchers could benefit from an awareness of these issues when suggesting extinction interventions and offering alternatives which may be more appropriate for family circumstances and facilitate parental informed choice.
... Parents at recruitment completed a sociodemographic questionnaire that assessed educational attainment, yearly family income, parental age, partner status (live-in vs. no live-in partner) and family size. In addition, mothers provided information in Keller and Goldberg's (2004) Sleep Practices Questionnaire (SPQ) about whether they thought they had adequate sleeping space for everyone in their household. That specific SPQ item was, "We have limited sleeping space," to which mothers responded on a five-point scale (1 ϭ not at all, 5 ϭ definitely). ...
The present longitudinal study addressed the ongoing debate regarding the benefits and risks of infant-parent cosleeping by examining associations between sleep arrangement patterns across the first year of life and infant and parent sleep, marital and family functioning, and quality of mothers' behavior with infants at bedtime. Patterns of infant sleep arrangements across the infants' first year were derived from information obtained from 139 families at 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months of infant age in a central Pennsylvania sample. Linkages between these patterns and parent-infant sleep, marital and coparenting stress, and maternal behavior at bedtime (from video-recordings) were assessed. Compared with families whose infants were solitary sleepers by 6 months, persistent cosleeping was associated with sleep disruption in mothers but not in infants, although mothers in persistent cosleeping arrangements reported that their infants had more frequent night awakenings. Persistent cosleeping was also associated with mother reports of marital and coparenting distress, and lower maternal emotional availability with infants at bedtime (from home observations). Persistent cosleeping appeared to be a marker of, though not necessarily a cause of, heightened family stress, although the present design did not enable strong tests of causal processes, and results may be particular to cultures that are not supportive of cosleeping. Findings are discussed in terms of cultural contexts of infant sleep and the need for further investigations into the role of the health of the family system in influencing how parents structure infant sleep. (PsycINFO Database Record
... There are only two studies to our knowledge that directly tackle the relationship between bed-sharing and independence/autonomy, and these studies have shown mixed evidence. In one sample of 87 mothers, solitary-sleeping children fell asleep, slept for the duration of the night, and weaned earlier than did bed-sharing children, but they were less self-reliant and had less social independence than did the bed-sharers (Keller & Goldberg, 2004). In another study, 102 early bed-sharers (who "usually slept in the parents' bed for a part of the night or the whole night during the first year") had a later age of learning to sleep on their own, but the mothers of these children also placed less importance on their children's ability to fall asleep alone (Germo, Goldberg, & Keller, 2009). ...
We tested whether mother-infant bed-sharing is associated with increased secure infant-mother attachment, a previously unexplored association. Frequency of bed-sharing and mothers' nighttime comforting measures at 2 months were assessed with questionnaires in 550 Caucasian mothers from a population-based cohort. Attachment security was assessed with the Strange Situation Procedure (M.D.S. Ainsworth, M.C. Blehar, E. Waters, & S. Wall, 1978) at 14 months. When using a dichotomous variable, "never bed-sharing" (solitary sleepers) versus "any bed-sharing," the relative risk of being classified as insecurely attached for solitary-sleeping infants (vs. bed-sharers) was 1.21 (95% confidence interval: 1.05-1.40). In multivariate models, solitary sleeping was associated with greater odds of insecure attachment, adjusted odds ratio (OR): 1.50, 95% CI = 1.02-2.20) and, in particular, with greater odds of resistant attachment, adjusted OR = 1.74, 95% CI = 1.10-2.76); and with a lower attachment security score, β = -0.12, t(495) = -2.61, p = .009. However, we found no evidence of a dose-response association between bed-sharing and secure attachment when using a trichotomous bed-sharing variable based on frequency of bed-sharing. Our findings demonstrate some evidence that solitary sleeping is associated with insecure attachment. However, the lack of a dose-response association suggests that further experimental study is necessary before accepting common notions that sharing a bed leads to children who are better or not better adjusted.
Objectives
Given that postpartum sleep is an important family process, further investigations including both mothers and fathers are necessary. The present study aimed to describe and compare sleep patterns and intraindividual night-to-night variability in mothers and fathers at 6 months postpartum using subjective and objective sleep measures.
Design
Cross-sectional study.
Setting
General community-based study in Montreal, QC, Canada.
Participants
Thirty-three couples (mothers and fathers) with no self-reported history of medical and mental health conditions participated in this study.
Results
Parental sleep was measured across 10 consecutive nights using both a daily sleep diary and actigraphy. Results demonstrated that mothers’ subjective and objective sleep was more fragmented compared with fathers (shorter longest consecutive sleep duration and more nocturnal awakenings; p<0.001). While mothers and fathers did not differ in their self-reported nocturnal sleep duration (p>0.05), actigraphy indicated that mothers obtained significantly longer nocturnal sleep duration (448.07 min±36.49 min) than fathers (400.96 min±45.42 min; p<0.001). Intraindividual sleep variability was revealed by relatively high coefficients of variation for parents across both subjective and objective indices related to sleep fragmentation (between 0.25 and 1.32). Actigraphy also demonstrated variability by mothers sleeping 6 hours consecutively on less than 3 nights, 27.27% (±22.81), and fathers on less than 6 nights, 57.27% (±24.53), out of 10. Associations were also found between parental sleep and family factors, such as age and infant sleep location (p<0.05).
Conclusions
These findings advance our knowledge of how sleep unfolds within the family system beyond the early postpartum weeks and/or months. Given the link between disturbed sleep and family functioning, the current research accentuates the importance of examining postpartum sleep patterns and variability in parents.
Sleep plays a crucial role in healthy human development. Nevertheless, burgeoning societal data from many countries indicates that significant proportions of children and adolescents do not regularly achieve the recommended sleep duration outlined in clinical guidance. Furthermore, there is a high prevalence of sleep initiation and maintenance disorders in paediatric populations. These disorders are strongly associated with behavioural and emotional problems, which in turn impact educational progress and social development. Despite their widespread prevalence and the deleterious impact they have on the health and quality of life of both children and their families, paediatric sleep disorders are generally poorly understood and remain undertreated in many clinical settings. Improving clinical education on the cognitive‐behavioural management of paediatric insomnia for clinicians at all levels of paediatric care is, therefore, of great importance. This chapter is intended to be used as a primer for clinicians undertaking the assessment and cognitive‐behavioural treatment of sleep problems in paediatric patients in the childhood and adolescent years. It will focus on presenting cognitive‐behavioural protocols for problems initiating and/or maintaining sleep, as well as discussion of issues surrounding assessment and diagnosis.
Human infants spend most of their time sleeping, but over the first few years of life their sleep becomes regulated to coincide more closely with adult sleep (Galland et al., 2012; Paavonen et al., 2020). Evidence shows that co-sleeping played a role in the evolution of infant sleep regulation, as it is part of an ancient behavioral complex representing the biopsychosocial microenvironment in which human infants co-evolved with their mothers through millions of years of human history (Ball, 2003; McKenna 1986, 1990). This paper is a conceptual, interdisciplinary, integration of the literature on mother-infant co-sleeping and other mother-infant co-regulatory processes from an evolutionary (biological) perspective, using complexity science. Viewing the mother-infant dyad as a “complex adaptive system” (CAS) shows how the CAS fits assumptions of regulatory processes and reveals the role of the CAS in the ontogeny of mother-infant co-regulation of physiological (thermoregulation, breathing, circadian rhythm coordination, nighttime synchrony, and heart rate variability) and socioemotional (attachment and cortisol activity) development.
Objective
To characterize family and environmental correlates of sleep patterns that may contribute to differences in infant sleep.
Methods
We studied 313 infants in the Rise & SHINE (Sleep Health in Infancy & Early Childhood study) cohort. Our main exposures were the parent-reported sleep environment, feeding method and sleep parenting strategies at infant age one month. The main outcomes were nighttime sleep duration, longest nighttime sleep and number of awakenings measured by actigraphy at age six months. We used multivariable linear regression models to examine associations, and secondarily also explored the role of sleep-related environmental exposures in mediating previously observed associations of racial/ethnicity and parental education with infant sleep characteristics.
Results
In adjusted models, a non-dark sleep environment (versus an always dark sleep location) and taking the baby to parent’s bed when awake at night (versus no co-sleeping) were associated with 28 (95% CI, -45, -11) and 18 (95% CI, -33, -4) minutes less sleep at night, respectively. Bottle feeding at bedtime was associated with 62 (95% CI, 21, 103) minutes additional longest nighttime sleep period. Exploratory mediation analyses suggested a modest mediating role of a non-dark sleep environment on racial/ethnic and educational differences in sleep duration.
Conclusions
Infant sleep duration was positively associated with a dark sleep environment and a focal feed at bedtime while taking the baby to the parent’s bed was associated with reduced infant sleep. Modifying the sleep environment and practices may improve infant sleep and reduce sleep health disparities.
Bedsharing is controversial for nighttime caregiving in the U.S. today, as in most of the West. However, from the standpoint of evolutionary pediatrics, anthropology, and cultural psychology, bedsharing is not controversial at all, representing the context for human infant evolution and conferring a host of physiological benefits to the infant as well as the mother. In an effort to understand the rise in Western bedsharing in recent decades (and following Ball, 2002; McKenna & Volpe, 2007), Salm Ward (2015) systematically reviewed the literature on mother-infant bedsharing and identified ten reasons why mothers choose to bedshare: (1) breastfeeding, (2) comforting for mother or infant, (3) better/more sleep for infant or parent, (4) monitoring, (5) bonding/ attachment, (6) environmental reasons, (7) crying, (8) cultural or familial traditions, (9) disagree with danger, and (10) maternal instinct. The current paper offers the “review behind the review,” highlighting the scientific evidence behind the reasons mothers give for their decision to bedshare, focusing on how mothers’ decisions about infant sleep location influence infant behavior and development.
(analítico)Se caracteriza el fenómeno del colecho en términos sociodemográficos, socioeconómicos y en relación con las vulnerabilidades específicas de los hogares, tales como la violencia intrafamiliar y los consumos nocivos. A través de la Encuesta de la Deuda Social Argentina y un análisis multivariado cuantitativo, se abordan los siguientes interrogantes: ¿el colecho es una práctica asociada únicamente a los bebés?, ¿resulta más frecuente en contextos de pobreza o se trata de una práctica que atraviesa a diferentes infancias? Se concluye que el colecho no es un fenómeno exclusivo de los y las bebés; que en la adolescencia es más regresivo para las mujeres y que el factor socioeconómico remite a un «colecho forzoso» que se especifica en interacción con el hacinamiento, la monoparentalidad, los consumos nocivos y la violencia intrafamiliar. Palabras clave: Infancia, desarrollo del niño, relación padres-hijos, crianza del niño, bienestar de la infancia, desigualdad social, familia monoparental, demografía, salud.
Infants evolved in the context of close contact (including co-sleeping). Evolutionary context is rarely considered in psychological infant sleep research, and Western sleep researchers make assumptions about what optimal “normal” infant sleep is and how to achieve early, deep, infant sleep consolidation and avoid infant sleep problems. However, an evolutionary and anthropological view of infant sleep as species-typical recognizes that human evolution likely prepared the infant brain for optimal development within its evolutionary context – co-sleeping. Thus, “normal” infant sleep, sleep consolidation, and sleep problems should all be understood within the framework of co-sleeping infants, not the historically new-phenomenon of solitary-sleeping infants. Much work needs to be done in order to understand “normal” infant sleep as species-typical and how adaptive infants are to environments that stray from their evolutionary norm.
Objective
The purpose of this study was to examine differences in reported sleep patterns (e.g., sleep onset, nocturnal sleep duration, nocturnal wakefulness) and aspects of sleep ecology (e.g., sleeping arrangements), in a sample of young children, between two cultural groups in Israel: Arab and Jewish.
Method
Mothers of 497 healthy, typically developing infants and toddlers, ranging in age from 3-36 months, participated in the study: 253 of the mothers were Arab and 244 were Jewish. The mothers were asked to complete the Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire – a well-validated questionnaire of early childhood sleep patterns. Mothers also completed a demographic questionnaire.
Results
Substantial cross-cultural differences in reported sleep patterns were found between Arab and Jewish children. Arab children, compared to Jewish children, had later bedtimes, shorter overall night duration, and longer periods of nocturnal wakefulness. Furthermore, Arab mothers perceived their children’s sleep as more problematic than did Jewish mothers. Arab families were more likely to room-share, with higher rates of maternal involvement at bedtime. Sleep onset played an important role in predicting nighttime sleep in Arab children; in the Jewish group, nighttime sleep was linked to parental proximity and assistance at bedtime.
Conclusion
The findings emphasize the importance of deepening the understanding regarding the role of culture in infants sleep patterns. This will enable health care professionals to attune their interventions to the specific cultural context. Further studies are needed to understand the basis and impacts of these cultural differences.
The human need for sleep is universal and unquestioned; however, humans vary in their sleep needs according to age, individual differences, as well as cultural and social norms and practices. Therefore, what is “normal” in infant sleep and the development of sleep architecture in humans is highly dependent on biological and sociocultural variables as well as socially constructed assumptions about what infant sleep “should” look like. This paper uses a multidisciplinary approach to review papers from fields including pediatrics, anthropology, psychology, medicine, and sociology to understand “normal” infant sleep. Because human culture and behavioral practice changes much more quickly than evolved human biology, and because human evolutionary history occurred in the context of breastfeeding and cosleeping, new work in the field of infant sleep architecture development would benefit from a multidisciplinary approach. To come to a consensus about what is “normal” infant sleep, researchers must agree on underlying basic assumptions of infant sleep from which to ask question and interpret findings.
Introduction
Thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency remains a concern in Cambodia where women with low thiamine intake produce thiamine-poor milk, putting their breastfed infants at risk of impaired cognitive development and potentially fatal infantile beriberi. Thiamine fortification of salt is a potentially low-cost, passive means of combating thiamine deficiency; however, both the dose of thiamine required to optimise milk thiamine concentrations as well as usual salt intake of lactating women are unknown.
Methods and analysis
In this community-based randomised controlled trial, 320 lactating women from Kampong Thom, Cambodia will be randomised to one of four groups to consume one capsule daily containing 0, 1.2, 2.4 or 10 mg thiamine as thiamine hydrochloride, between 2 and 24 weeks postnatal. The primary objective is to estimate the dose where additional maternal intake of thiamine no longer meaningfully increases infant thiamine diphosphate concentrations 24 weeks postnatally. At 2, 12 and 24 weeks, we will collect sociodemographic, nutrition and health information, a battery of cognitive assessments, maternal (2 and 24 weeks) and infant (24 weeks only) venous blood samples (biomarkers: ThDP and transketolase activity) and human milk samples (also at 4 weeks; biomarker: milk thiamine concentrations). All participants and their families will consume study-provided salt ad libitum throughout the trial, and we will measure salt disappearance each fortnight. Repeat weighed salt intakes and urinary sodium concentrations will be measured among a subset of 100 participants. Parameters of E max dose–response curves will be estimated using non-linear least squares models with both ‘intention to treat’ and a secondary ‘per-protocol’ (capsule compliance ≥80%) analyses.
Ethics and dissemination
Ethical approval was obtained in Cambodia (National Ethics Committee for Health Research 112/250NECHR), Canada (Mount Saint Vincent University Research Ethics Board 2017–141) and the USA (University of Oregon Institutional Review Board 07052018.008). Results will be shared with participants’ communities, as well as relevant government and scientific stakeholders via presentations, academic manuscripts and consultations.
Trial registration number
NCT03616288 .
This study investigated the effectiveness of functional behavioral assessment (FBA)—informed interventions for sleep problems, particularly co‐sleeping, in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Seven children, who exhibited multiple sleep problems including unwanted co‐sleeping, participated. FBA, based on information derived from interviews and parent‐recorded sleep diaries, was used to develop individualized case formulations upon which multicomponent, parent‐implemented interventions were based. These were evaluated using a single‐case, non‐concurrent multiple‐baseline‐across‐participants design. Improvements were observed across all sleep problems, including the elimination of co‐sleeping. Gains were maintained at follow‐up for five out of seven children, though two children did not complete intervention. Parents reported high levels of satisfaction with the program. FBA‐based interventions for sleep problems in children with ASD and their clinical implications are further discussed.
This study examines the relationship between the sleeping environments of Japanese infants and the absence of reports of sleep disturbances in infancy. The sleep environments of a sample of urban (Nagasaki) infants and rural (Goto Islands) infants were described and the Brazelton Scale was used to examine the behavioral repertoire of the infants. The findings reveal that both rural and urban Japanese infants sleep in very close proximity to their parents over the first three years of life. The Brazelton Scale results reveal that Japanese newborns are alert and responsive, show little state lability and are especially able to habituate to negative stimuli when asleep. A cultural-ecological model is presented which argues that the relative absence of sleep disturbances in Japanese infants may be due to a combination of the infants' behavioral pre-disposition to be able to habituate to negative stimuli while asleep on the one hand and a sleeping environment that promotes extensive close physical contact between infants and parents, on the other.
In the past 15 years, a major advance in the study of early social development has been the conceptual distinction between attachment (the relationship between infant and caregiver) and dependency (the reliance of the child on adults for nurturance, attention, or assistance). Having made this distinction, it is possible to ask questions anew concerning the relationship between infant-caregiver relations and later overdependency of the child. In this study such a tie was examined by assessing children with varying attachment histories in a preschool setting. It was found that groups of children classified at 12 and 18 months as avoidant (Ainsworth Group A) and resistant (Ainsworth Group C) both were highly dependent in the preschool, based on teacher ratings, rankings and Q sorts, observed physical contact seeking, and observed guidance and discipline received from teachers. Children who had been securely attached (Group B) were significantly lower on all these measures and significantly higher on "seeking attention in positive ways." The high dependency of both anxiously attached groups, despite their differences in manifest behavior in the attachment assessments, suggests that the roots of overdependency lie in the quality of the early infant-caregiver relationship.
This study assessed three dimensions of parent style, autonomy support, involvement, and provision of structure in 64 mothers and 50 fathers of elementary-school children in Grades 3–6, using a structured interview. Construct validity data for the interview ratings suggested that the three parent dimensions were reliable, relatively independent, and correlated with other parent measures in hypothesized ways. Aspects of children's self-regulation and competence were measured through children's reports, teacher ratings, and objective indices. Parental autonomy support was positively related to children's self-reports of autonomous self-regulation, teacher-rated competence and adjustment, and school grades and achievement. Maternal involvement was related to achievement, teacher-rated competence, and some aspects of behavioral adjustment, but no significant relations were obtained for father involvement. The structure dimension was primarily related to children's control understanding. Results are discussed in terms of the motivational impact of the parent on school competence and adjustment and in terms of transactional models of influence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Examines the decisions of middle-class US and Highland Mayan parents regarding sleeping arrangements during their child's 1st 2 yrs and their explanations for their differing practices. All 14 Mayan children slept in their mothers' beds into toddlerhood. None of the 18 US infants slept in bed with their mothers on a regular basis as newborns, although 15 slept near their mothers until age 3–6 mo, when most were moved to a separate room. The Mayan parents explained their practices in terms of the value of closeness with infants; US parents explained their practices in terms of the value of independence for infants. US families, but not Mayan families, used bedtime routines and objects to facilitate the transition to sleep. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
A total of 188 employed mothers and fathers and their 5–7 yr-old child participated in a study of the relations between the nature of adults' work and their parenting attitudes and behaviors (a line of research influenced by both socialization and stress perspectives). In general, positive features of work (i.e., complexity of work with people, challenge, and stimulation) tended to be associated with both self-report and observational measures of developmentally sound parenting (e.g., less harsh discipline, more warmth and responsiveness). Interaction effects indicated that gender of parent and child further condition these relations. Analyses partially support the interpretation that conditions of work influence parenting through their effect on mood but also suggest that certain conditions of work may directly socialize behavior in the parental role (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The 6 articles in this special section represent the state of the art in cross-cultural research on child development, revealing common strengths as well as recurring lacunae. The articles document some of the diverse environments of child development, explore questions of universality and cultural variation in mothers' and children's behavior, and attempt to delineate causal relationships among culture, parental behavior, and developmental outcomes. A common strength of the research is the collection of quantitative developmental data using familiar methods from Western-based research. However, most of the reports lack systematic information on relevant aspects of the cultural setting, making interpretation of results problematic. Further progress in the field will require integration of methods for the study of the child and the cultural context for development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Examined how adults' investments in work and parenting impinge on socialization practices and perceptions of children's behavior. One hundred ninety-four employed mothers and 104 employed fathers, each with an employed spouse and a 3- to 4-year-old child, completed questionnaires about work and parenting, socialization practices, and perceptions of their children's behavior. Among the findings of particular interest: (a) Parental investment was a stronger predictor of fathers' and mothers' demands for mature behavior than was work investment; (b) women with high commitments to both work and parenting were more likely than others to engage in authoritative parenting; (c) parenting styles were related to mothers' ratings of their children's behavior; and (d) differences in involvement in parenting were associated with differences in how favorably fathers and mothers described their children. Taken together, the results suggest that men's and women's degree of investment in parenting is more consequential for their socialization practices and views of their children than is their degree of investment in work. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Objective: To investigate the risks of the sudden infant death syndrome and factors that may contribute to unsafe sleeping environments.Design: Three year, population based case-control study. Parental interviews were conducted for each sudden infant death and for four controls matched for age, locality, and time of sleep.Setting: Five regions in England with a total population of over 17 million people.Subjects: 325 babies who died and 1300 control infants.Results: In the multivariate analysis infants who shared their parents' bed and were then put back in their own cot had no increased risk (odds ratio 0.67; 95% confidence interval 0.22 to 2.00). There was an increased risk for infants who shared the bed for the whole sleep or were taken to and found in the parental bed (9.78; 4.02 to 23.83), infants who slept in a separate room from their parents (10.49; 4.26 to 25.81), and infants who shared a sofa (48.99; 5.04 to 475.60) The risk associated with being found in the parental bed was not significant for older infants (>14 weeks) or for infants of parents who did not smoke and became non-significant after adjustment for recent maternal alcohol consumption (>2 units), use of duvets (>4 togs), parental tiredness (infant slept ≤4 hours for longest sleep in previous 24 hours), and overcrowded housing conditions (>2 people per room of the house).Conclusions: There are certain circumstances when bed sharing should be avoided, particularly for infants under four months old. Parents sleeping on a sofa with infants should always be avoided. There is no evidence that bed sharing is hazardous for infants of parents who do not smoke.Key messsagesCosleeping with an infant on a sofa was associated with a particularly high risk of sudden infant death syndromeSharing a room with the parents was associated with a lower riskThere was no increased risk associated with bed sharing when the infant was placed back in his or her cotAmong parents who do not smoke or infants older than 14 weeks there was no association between infants being found in the parental bed and an increased risk of sudden infant death syndromeThe risk linked with bed sharing among younger infants seems to be associated with recent parental consumption of alcohol, overcrowded housing conditions, extreme parental tiredness, and the infant being under a duvet
An evolutionary perspective on human infant sleep physiology suggests that parent-infant cosleeping, practiced under safe conditions, might be beneficial to both mothers and infants. However, cosleeping is not part of mainstream parenting ideology in the United States or the United Kingdom, and little evidence is available to indicate whether, and under what circumstances, parents sleep with their newborn infants. We present data from an anthropological investigation into the practices and attitudes of new and experienced parents of newborn infants regarding parent-infant sleeping arrangements in a community in the northeast of England. Despite not having contemplated cosleeping prior to the birth, new parents in our sample found it to be a convenient nighttime caregiving strategy, and one which was practiced regularly. Infants slept with both their parents, some being habitual all-night cosleepers, but commonly beginning the night in a cnb and sleeping with their parents for several hours following the early morning feed, [infant sleep, newborn, cosleeping, new parents]
Anthropological approaches to human development have been oriented primarily to the socialized adult, at the expense of understanding developmental processes. Developmental psychology, in contrast, has traditionally been concerned with a decontextualized, "universal" child. After a brief historical review, the "developmental niche" is introduced as a framework for examining the cultural structuring of child development. The developmental niche has three components: the physical and social settings in which the child lives; the customs of child care and child rearing; and the psychology of the caretakers. Homeostatic mechanisms tend to keep the three subsystems in harmony with each other and appropriate to the developmental level and individual characteristics of the child. Nevertheless, they have different relationships to other features of the larger environment and thus constitute somewhat independent routes of disequilibrium and change. Regularities within and among the subsystems, and thematic continuities and progressions across the niches of childhood provide material from which the child abstracts the social, affective, and cognitive rules of the culture. Examples are provided from research in a farming community in Kenya.
Twenty-six mother-child dyads played together in a laboratory setting. Play sessions were surreptitiously videotaped (with mothers' permission), and each maternal vocalization was transcribed and coded, first into 1 of 24 categories and then ipso facto into one of three supercategories--namely, controlling, autonomy supportive, and neutral. The degree of mothers' controllingness was calculated as the percentage of vocalizations coded as controlling. This index was correlated with the intrinsic motivation of their 6- or 7-year-old children, as assessed primarily by the free-choice behavioral measure and secondarily by a child self-report measure of interest and liking for the task. Both correlations were significantly negative, thereby suggesting that the robust laboratory findings of a negative relation between controlling contexts and individuals' intrinsic motivation are directly generalizable to the domain of parenting. Results are discussed in terms of the processes that undermine intrinsic motivation and the means through which parental controllingness is communicated.
The prevalence and correlates of sleeping in the parental bed among healthy children between 6 months and 4 years of age are described. One hundred fifty children were enrolled in an interview study on the basis of "well-child" care appointments in representative pediatric facilities. The sample created was similar in demographic characteristics to census data for the Cleveland area. In this cross section of families in a large US city, cosleeping was a routine and recent practice in 35% of white and 70% of black families. Cosleeping in both racial groups was associated with approaches to sleep management at bedtime that emphasized parental involvement and body contact. Specifically, cosleeping children were significantly more likely to fall asleep out of bed and to have adult company and body contact at bedtime. Among white families only, cosleeping was associated with the older child, lower level of parental education, less professional training, increased family stress, a more ambivalent maternal attitude toward the child, and disruptive sleep problems in the child.
We try to keep in mind cultural influences on the advice we give. We remind ourselves that much of what comes to the pediatrician’s attention, as problematic sleep behavior- children who have difficulty falling asleep alone at bedtime, who wake at night and ask for parental attention, or who continue to nurse at night-is problematic only in relation to our society’s expectations, rather than to some more general standard of what con- stitutes difficult behavior in the young child. Our pediatric advice on transitional objects, breast feeding, cosleeping may be unknowingly biased toward traditional Euro Amer- icanviews of childrearing, especially those about bedtime and nighttime behavior. Thus, in giving advice about sleep, pediatric health professionals might dowell to be aware of their own cultural values, to examine closely their patients cultural and family contexts, and to assess parental reactions to children’s sleep behaviors. (1) Who sleeps by whom is not merely a personal or private activity. Instead it is social practice, like burying the dead or expressing gratitude for gifts or eating meals with your family, or honoring the practice of a monogamous marriage, which (for those engaged in the practice) is invested with moral and social meaning for a person’s reputation and good standing in the community. (2) Inclinical pediatrics, cosleeping is thepolitical third rail. If you touch it, youdie. (3) In this chapter, we have contributed a new conclusion to the first version pub- lished in the earlier edition, slightly modified and updated recent developments as regards research into mother-infant cosleeping in the form of bedsharing, and have contributed a new last section that critiques recommendations against any and all bedsharing. But mostly, we provide here (without modification) a cultural background to our thinking about what constitutes “normal, healthy, and desirable” infant sleep and show the interconnectedness between scientific research, cultural values, concerns for morality, and sleeping arrangements that are characteristic of Western society. Specific biological and psychological evidence is put forth supporting the views of Sadeh and Anders (4,5) and Anders (6) on the importance of understanding what is “appropriate” infant sleep on the basis of the overall social and physical context within which it occurs.
The 6 articles in this special section represent the state of the art in cross-cultural research on child development, revealing common strengths as well as recurring lacunae. The articles document some of the diverse environments of child development, explore questions of universality and cultural variation in mothers' and children's behavior, and attempt to delineate causal relationships among culture, parental behavior, and developmental outcomes. A common strength of the research is the collection of quantitative developmental data using familiar methods from Western-based research. However, most of the reports lack systematic information on relevant aspects of the cultural setting, making interpretation of results problematic. Further progress in the field will require integration of methods for the study of the child and the cultural context for development.
Objective: To determine the relationship between cosleeping and sleep problems in cultures with very different sleep practices. Design: Interview study. Setting: Families in urban Japan and the United States identified through pediatric and other professional contacts. Participants: Parents of healthy 6- to 48-month-old children (56 Japanese parents and 61 white US parents). All children had been breast-fed and lived in 2-parent, middle-class households. Intervention: None Main Outcome Measure: Sleep practices and sleep problems. Results: More Japanese than US children coslept 3 or more times per week (59% vs 15%, P<.001). All cosleeping Japanese children regularly slept all night with their parents (vs 11% of US cosleepers, P<.001). Japanese and US children did not differ in part-night cosleeping (7% vs 13%, P =.37). Most Japanese children had adult company and body contact as they fell asleep, and fathers slept separately in 23% of families. A greater proportion ofUS children had regular bedtime struggles and night waking. Within the US sample, cosleeping was associated with more bedtime struggles (P<.001), night waking (P<.01), and overall stressful sleep problems (P<.01). In the Japanese sample, cosleeping was associated only with night waking (P<.05); however, the proportion of cosleeping Japanese children with frequent night waking was at the level reported for US children who slept alone (30% vs 23%. P =.47). Conclusions: Cultural differences seem to influence the relationship between sleep practices and sleep problems. The experience of the Japanese families indicates that cosleeping per se is not associated with increased sleep problems in early childhood.
Data collected in a Taiwanese village were used to test predictions derived from Lambert's exchange theory of family structure differences in child training (1971). Thirty-seven women with children between the ages of 4 and 10 were interviewed about their socialization practices, and a number of questions concerning independence training were selected for analysis. As predicted, mothers in extended families were considerably less likely to train their children to be self-reliant, but it was not clear that this difference could be attributed to the grandmother's role as a "low-cost" parental surrogate. Several alternative explanations are considered.
Dyadic co-sleeping (mother–baby) is a common strategy for night-time infant care in the majority of world cultures. Triadic co-sleeping (mother–father–baby) is less common, although still widely practised cross-culturally. This paper examines triadic co-sleeping in an opportunistic sample of parents from the North Tees region of England, and explores fathers' expectations and experiences of sleeping with their babies. Using a prospective study design, 36 sets of parents, pre- and post-natally, were interviewed about infant care strategies, particularly at night. Although they did not anticipate sleeping with their infants at the pre-natal interview, the majority of fathers (81%) had done so by the time of the second interview. First-time fathers were afraid that they would squash or suffocate the baby in their sleep, and some were concerned that the infant's presence would adversely affect their own sleep. Fathers used a variety of strategies to help overcome their initial fears of co-sleeping. Among those for whom triadic co-sleeping became a regular night-time infant care strategy, the pleasures of prolonged intimate contact with their infant were clearly apparent. It is suggested that the experience of sleeping with their infant ameliorates some of the distancing effects felt by fathers outside the breast-feeding relationship, and helps encourage paternal involvement in night-time infant care-giving. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
This paper reviews the evolutionary history of human birth and infancy, using as data the cross-species, cross-cultural, and fossil records. We argue that studies of other cultures, other species, and other, more ancient times are necessary for fully understanding social, psychological, and physiological processes underlying birth and infant development. Indeed, knowledge of the differences in the ancient and recent environments of birth and infancy is necessary for understanding and solving some of the problems and dissatisfactions with the ways in which childbirth and infancy are experienced in modern life. The most dramatic differences to emerge in this review are in the social environments of childbirth and the sleeping environments of infants.
This paper extends the evolutionary and developmental research model for SIDS presented in previous articles (McKenna 1990a, 1990b). Data from variety of fields were used to show why we should expect human infants to be physiologically responsive in a beneficial way to parental contact, one form of which is parent-infant co-sleeping. It was suggested that on-going sensory exchanges (touch, movement, smell, temperature, etc.) between co-sleeping parent-infant pairs might diminish the chances of an infantile cardiac-respiratory crisis (such as those suspected to occur in some SIDS cases).In this article we review recent epidemiological data and sleep research findings on SIDS to show how they relate to evolutionary and cross-cultural perspectives. Results of a preliminary study of the co-sleeping behavior of mother-infant pairs indicate that, with respect to sleep, arousal, and respiratory patterns, co-sleeping mother-infant pairs affect each other in potentially important ways. We suggest specifically that co-sleeping may shorten periods of consolidated sleep among young infants by causing them to arouse more frequently. Moreover, we suggest that partner-induced arousals might help the infant to confront sleep crises more competently. In the long run, these arousals might prevent the premature emergence of prolonged (adultlike) sleep bouts from which some infants have difficulty arousing-especially during a breathing pause or apnea.
This paper describes alternative methods for careful sampling of special populations. It discusses the use of single or multiple lists, even when incomplete, along with supplementary measures using telephone and mail techniques. If the special populations are clustered there are several alternatives for reducing costs substantially. These involve telephone or mail screenings to eliminate zero segments with a single contact, use of two or three contacts to eliminate zero segments if face-to-face screening is required, use of lists to identify nonzero segments, use of combined screening, and reducing the sampling rate in nonzero areas that have low densities.
For some populations the use of network sampling can be very effective. Some populations can be defined by their activities and sampled at locations where they participate. These careful methods should be used if one is trying to generalize to a total special population.
Compiling essays authored by Benjamin Spock and published in popular magazines, this book examines the emotional and physical needs of infants and toddlers. The chapters are: (1) "Communicating with Your Baby: Reading Your Baby's Cues," including information on crying, motor behavior, squealing, and parents' responses; (2) "Parents' Biggest Newborn Concerns," discussing concerns such as floppy head, SIDS, breastfeeding, breathing patterns, and jaundice; (3) "Choosing a Doctor for Your Baby," encouraging parents and doctors to work at building an alliance; (4) "The Arrival of the New Baby," focusing on feeding decisions, preparing the family for the new baby, and circumcision choices; (5) "How Much Regularity to Infant Feeding?"; (6) "Beginning Solids"; (7) "Poor Eaters"; (8)"Common Physical Problems," such as teething, colds, and ear infections; (9) "Stranger Anxiety"; (10) "Transitional Objects," including thumb sucking; (11) "Sleep Problems"; (12) "Toilet Training"; (13) "Discipline and Temper Tantrums: An Opportunity for Parent-Child Communication and Learning"; and (14) "Can You Spoil a Child?" (KB)
examine the concept of human autonomy as it relates to both normal and psychopathological development / set forth a definition of autonomy that is informed by philosophical and clinical analyses, and that differentiates it from closely related constructs such as independence and detachment / explore how autonomy is intertwined with the developmental processes of intrinsic motivation, internalization, and emotional integration [and regulation during childhood], paying particular attention to how conditions in the social context either support the motivational and emotional bases of normal development or, alternatively, undermine these bases and contribute to psychopathology
examine how the development of individual autonomy is intertwined with issues in attachment and the development of interpersonal relatedness, and how both autonomy and relatedness represent critical aspects of the development of self / discuss the dynamics of autonomy and relatedness with regard to varied clinical disorders of a psychological nature, which we view as outcomes of nonoptimal developmental antecedents (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Reviews the literature to assess the effects of cosleeping. Findings indicate that the prevalence of cosleeping varies greatly across racial groups; Black families report the greatest incidence followed by Hispanic and White families. Cosleeping in White families often occurs in reaction to circumstances related to sleep problems while cosleeping in Black families reflects a subcultural sleeping pattern. Family stress, ambivalent maternal attitude, increased disruptive sleep patterns, decreased parental education, and maternal depressed mood were found to be significantly associated with cosleeping in White, but not Black, families. Evidence suggests that cosleeping may temporarily suppress, but does not solve, a child's sleep problems. Cosleeping is found more in single parent homes and with parents who would cosleep as children themselves. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
FACTORS CONSIDERED ARE CITY OF RESIDENCE, HOUSEHOLD SIZE, NUMBER OF GENERATIONS IN THE HOUSE, LIFE STYLE, SOCIAL CLASS, AND DENSITY. 10 TABLES INDICATE THE CORRELATIONS OF THE VARIABLES. THE GENERAL FINDING WAS THAT MORE MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY SLEEP TOGETHER IN JAPAN, THEREBY EMPHASIZING FAMILY VS. PERSONAL DEPENDENCE. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This study investigated parent—child interactions during sleep onset and nighttime arousals in a rural sample of preschool children. The role of co-sleeping in relation to sleep habits and night waking was examined using parental self-report of both current and retrospective sleep patterns. The results showed that Solitary Sleepers engaged in more complex bedtime routines, and had more longstanding and stronger attachment to security objects and sleep aids, than did Co-sleepers. Infancy precursors to co-sleeping in early childhood were a history of breastfeeding, night feedings in the parent's bed, and returning to sleep in the parent's bed.
The development of a new parental self-report questionnaire, the Parental Interactive Bedtime Behaviour Scale (PIBBS) is described. The PIBBS was designed to capture a wide range of parental behaviours used to settle infants off to sleep. The commonest behaviours employed were giving a feed, talking softly to the child, cuddling in the arms, and stroking. A factor analysis revealed five settling strategies; ‘active physical comforting’ (e.g. cuddling in arms); ‘encouraging infant autonomy’ (e.g. leaving to cry); ‘movement’ (e.g. car rides), ‘passive physical comforting’ (e.g. standing next to the cot without picking the infant up), and ‘social comforting’ (e.g. reading a story). Excessive ‘active physical comforting’ and reduced ‘encourage autonomy’ strategy use was associated with infant sleeping problems. Regarding developmental change in strategy between 1 and 2 years, the later the onset at which ‘encourage autonomy’ became the principal strategy used, the more likely that persistent infant sleeping problems would be present. Factors accounting for the change in strategy use over time were: (i) parental adaptation to infant developmental maturation; (ii) the interaction between maternal cognition and strategy, and, to a lesser extent; (iii) the interaction between infant temperament and parental strategy. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A follow-up program for high-risk infants included the administration of the Short and Early Develop ment Forms of the Scales of Independent Behavior, the Survey Form of the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, and the Bayley Scales of Infant Development to 66 1-year-olds and their parents. Results suggested comparability between adaptive scales in terms of standard scores, but not age scores. Moderate to high correlations were found between each adaptive scale and the Bayley men tal and motor scales. One possible advantage of the Vineland over the Scales of Independent Behavior was discussed.
The childcare practices of mothers in suburban Boston seem to reflect the mothers' emphasis on cultural values such as independence and exploration to further cognitive development.
This paper describes the development and validation of a general causality orientations scale. Causality orientations are conceptualized as relatively enduring aspects of people that characterize the source of initiation and regulation, and thus the degree of self-determination, of their behavior. Three orientations—autonomy, control, and impersonal—are measured by the three subscales of the instrument. Individuals are given a score on each orientation, thus allowing the use of the theoretically appropriate subscale (or, in some cases, a combination of subscales) to predict affects, cognitions, and behaviors. The scale was shown to have internal consistency and temporal stability. The orientations were shown to fit appropriately into a nomological network of constructs and to relate to various behaviors that were hypothesized to be theoretically relevant.
Objective To investigate the risks of the sudden infant death syndrome and factors that may contribute to unsafe sleeping environments. Design Three year, population based case-control study. Parental interviews were conducted for each sudden infant death and for four controls matched for age, locality, and time of sleep. Setting Fire regions in England with a total population of over 17 million people. Subjects 325 babies who died and 1300 control infants. Results In die multivariate analysis infants who shared their parents' bed and were then put back in their own cot had no increased risk (odds ratio 0.67; 95% confidence interval 0.22 to 2.00). There was an increased risk for infants who shared the bed for the whole sleep or were taken to and found in the parental bed (9.78; 4.02 to 23.83), infants who slept in a separate room from their parents (10.49; 4.26 to 25.81), and infants who shared a sofa (48.99; 5.04 to 475.60). The risk associated with being found in the parental bed was not significant for older infants (> 14 weeks) or for infants of parents who did not smoke and became non-significant after adjustment for recent maternal alcohol consumption(> 2 units), use of duvets ( > 4 togs), parental tiredness (infant slept less than or equal to 4 hours for longest sleep in previous 24 hours), and overcrowded housing conditions (> 2 people per room of the house). Conclusions There are certain circumstances when bed sharing should be avoided, particularly for infants under four months old. Parents sleeping on a sofa Midi infants should always be avoided. There is no evidence that bed sharing is hazardous for infants of parents who do not smoke.
Caudill and Plath (1966) point out that “If a third of life is passed in bed, with whom this time is spent is not a trivial matter” (p. 344). They further argue that children co-sleeping with parents expresses a cultural emphasis on the nurturant aspects of family life and a deemphasis on its sexual aspects. They postulate that in Japanese society, it relates to the strength of the family bond. In America we typically assume that children do not sleep with their parents, and that if they do, they shouldn’t. Because we assume that children don’t sleep with their parents, there are very few studies in this area, and because we assume that it shouldn’t happen, most of the studies that have been done involve psychiatric populations (Kaplan and Poznanski, 1974; Oleinick et al., 1966; Sperling, 1971). Predictably, the reason given as to why children shouldn’t sleep with parents is that it arouses sexual anxiety (Kaplan and Poznanski; Sperling). The present study is an attempt to collect more detailed descriptive data about both the do and the should aspects of co-sleeping in American society: Do American parents sleep with their children? Do they feel that they should or shouldn’t be sleeping with their children? Do they perceive it as a cultural taboo?
Night waking and crying are very common in infancy and can cause problems for parents and families. This study surveyed 218 healthy Korean infants from 3 months to 2 years old to determine their night waking and crying patterns. On average, 83% awoke and 28% cried more than once per night. Ninety-eight percent of the babies slept with a member of the family. Infants with transitional objects or nighttime habits (e.g., finger sucking, touching and/or playing with mother's or own hair, touching a part of mother's or own body) cried more frequently. In terms of the maternal response toward the crying babies, most of the mothers used traditional methods, such as patting/holding, feeding, changing diapers. Only one mother ignored the crying baby, and none used medication, delayed response, or white noise. Sixteen percent of the mothers indicated that their babies' crying constituted a problem for them.
This study examines falling asleep and night waking in human infants during the first 8 months of life. All-night time-lapse video recordings were obtained at 3 weeks and 3 months of age; a Sleep Habits Interview was completed at these ages and repeated at 8 months of age by telephone interview. At the 3-week and 3-month ages, self-report measures of maternal psychologic distress, depression, and self-esteem were also obtained. The data are examined from both cross-sectional (age group) and longitudinal (individual) perspectives. Parent-infant interactions at bedtime and during the middle of the night changed significantly with increasing age. At 3 weeks of age, most infants were put into their cribs for the night already asleep. When they awakened in the middle of the night, they were removed from their cribs. By the time they returned to their cribs, they were again asleep. By 3 months of age, infants who were put into the crib awake at bedtime and allowed to fall asleep on their own were more likely to return to sleep on their own after awakenings later in the night. In contrast, infants who were put into the crib already asleep at the beginning of the night were significantly more likely to be removed from the crib following a subsequent nighttime awakening. Thus, the pattern of bedtime sleep onset was related to sleep onset following an awakening in the middle of the night. This association was present at 8 months as well.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Psychological, family, and social characteristics relating to attachment relationships were measured in mothers of 20 sleep-disordered toddlers, comparing them with 21 mothers of toddlers without sleep problems. The groups were matched on measures of socioeconomic status, child and maternal age, maternal education, marital status, and family size. Results showed that 100% of mothers of sleep-disordered children were classified as insecure with respect to attachment, as assessed by the Adult Attachment Interview, compared with 57% of control group mothers (p less than 0.002). There were no group differences on measures of maternal defensiveness, self-esteem, marital satisfaction, and social support. These results suggest that maternal current perspectives on their relationship history, rather than general psychosocial adjustment, are crucial contributors to the onset and perpetuation of sleep disorders in early childhood.
Cosleeping is a topic frequently of concern to parents; however, little objective evidence exists to support the historical prohibition against children sleeping in the same bed with their parents. Surveys from the parents of 86 children in the clinics of pediatrics and child psychiatry were analyzed to describe patterns of cosleeping in a group of military dependents aged 2 to 13 years. Shown is a significant increase in cosleeping with father absence and that cosleeping is less frequent in the psychiatric subpopulation.
The Vineland Social Maturity Scale and its revision, the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale-Survey Form, were evaluated with infants referred for suspected developmental delay. Since the latter is being used more often by psychologists in evaluation and placement of children in the age group of birth to two years, comparative studies must ensure appropriate placement of children observed to have developmental delays. The present study indicated significantly higher over-all adaptive functioning on the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale-Survey Form for 33 black and 11 white infants of mean age 12 mo. than on the original Vineland scales. Substituting the Survey Form for the original Vineland scales when evaluating developmentally delayed infants is questionable. These results are also noteworthy in that children whose Vineland Social Maturity scaled scores make them eligible for special services would be excluded if the revised form were used in the evaluation process.
A telephone survey was carried out to determine the prevalence of infant and toddler sleep disturbances. Parents of all 12- to 35-month-old children listed in one community were contacted, and 81% participated. Many children resisted going to bed (42%) or woke and cried during the night (35%). Approximately half the parents had changed their child's diet, naptime, or bedtime and about half these parents found changing routines helpful. Parents frequently reported that pacifiers or bottles in the crib quieted their children. Crying it out, scheduled awakenings, and progressive delay responding were all effective (70% or better) for parents who were aware of these procedures. Satisfaction did not necessarily correspond with effectiveness. Finally, parents were more likely to seek information about sleep from relatives, friends, or books and magazines than from their physician or from a psychologist.
A randomly selected community sample of 303 parents of 2- and 3-year-olds were interviewed about child sleep behaviors and completed the Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 2-3, a standardized rating scale for child problem behaviors. Most parents (55%) reported that the child slept in their bed at least occasionally and for at least part of the night, particularly during periods of minor stress or disruption of the family routine. The prevalence of cosleeping did not vary by the child's age or sex, but frequent cosleeping (more than once per week) was more common among nonwhite families and single-mother households. Cosleeping was not significantly related to child behavior problems, but frequent cosleepers were more likely to report sleep problems, including difficulty getting to sleep and night waking. Children who were still cosleeping frequently 1 year after the initial assessment maintained high levels of sleep problems, compared with those who stopped cosleeping and non-cosleepers. Cosleeping is common at this age and is not related to general maladjustment. However, frequent cosleeping is closely intertwined with child sleep problems.
Although sleep disruptions are very common in toddlers, developmental norms have not yet been established. A Toddler Sleep Habits Questionnaire was designed to obtain descriptions of toddlers’ sleep habits and to clarify what constitutes a sleep problem. Data obtained from the questionnaire in a middle to upper- middle-class sample showed that a substantial proportion of the children had struggles around bedtime, used a special toy to aid in falling asleep, used a nightlight, and continued to have regular night waking. Parents were not concerned about these habits but did express worry about such behaviors as cosleeping, needing to hold the child at bedtime, or giving a bottle during the night. Comparison of these results with those of other studies suggests that some sleep disruptions, such as bedtime settling difficulties and middle of the night awakening, may have a developmental basis. © 1987 by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
A longitudinal study, based on interviews with 308 middle-class, preponderantly white mothers, provided an opportunity to evaluate the continuity, predictive factors, and behavioral correlates of sleep problems in young children. When their children were 8 months old, 10% of the mothers reported that their babies woke three or more times per night, 8% reported that the babies took an hour or more to settle after waking, 5% complained that their own sleep was severely disrupted by the child, and 18% reported at least one of these problems. At 3 years of age, 29% of the children had difficulty getting to bed and/or falling asleep or staying asleep. Of children with a sleep problem at 8 months of age, 41% still had a problem at 3 years of age, whereas only 26% of children without a problem at 8 months of age had a problem at 3 years of age (P less than .001). Among children with sleep problems at 8 months of age, mothers' depressed feelings were the only measured demographic or psychosocial factor associated with persistent sleep problems (P = .02). A separate analysis indicated that these depressed feelings did not appear to be a consequence of the child's sleep problem. Future studies should evaluate how maternal depression interacts with other factors to result in persistent sleep problems. Children with persistent sleep problems were more likely to have behavior problems, especially tantrums (P less than .02) and behavior management problems (P less than .01), than were children without persistent sleep problems (P less than .02).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The prevalence and correlates of sleeping in the parental bed among healthy children between 6 months and 4 years of age are described. One hundred fifty children were enrolled in an interview study on the basis of "well-child" care appointments in representative pediatric facilities. The sample created was similar in demographic characteristics to census data for the Cleveland area. In this cross section of families in a large US city, cosleeping was a routine and recent practice in 35% of white and 70% of black families. Cosleeping in both racial groups was associated with approaches to sleep management at bedtime that emphasized parental involvement and body contact. Specifically, cosleeping children were significantly more likely to fall asleep out of bed and to have adult company and body contact at bedtime. Among white families only, cosleeping was associated with the older child, lower level of parental education, less professional training, increased family stress, a more ambivalent maternal attitude toward the child, and disruptive sleep problems in the child.
Parental reports of night waking and sleep patterns were obtained for 141 normal 4- to 8-month-old infants from middle-class families. A group of infants was identified who had a past history of colic and who were perceived to have a current night waking "problem." These infants awoke more often than other infants and also had significantly briefer total sleep duration. Night waking was described as a problem in infant boys more often than in infant girls. A second group of infants who awoke frequently was reported to snore or mouth breathe when asleep. This group of infants did not have a past history of colic, was not perceived to have a night waking problem, and was not overly represented by boys. Ordinal position, father's education level, gender, and method of feeding did not affect reported sleep patterns.
The family context of toddler development was explored with 75 20-month-olds and their parents. To determine the impact of quantitative and qualitative aspects of fathering, relationships between father involvement in child rearing, parenting characteristics (attitudes and behavior), and child adaptation were investigated. Child characteristics included security of toddler-father and toddler-mother attachment assessed in the strange situation, and toddler affect and task orientation in a problem-solving task. Parental attitudes and father involvement were assessed with questionnaires. Analyses examining associations among father involvement, parenting characteristics, and toddler development demonstrated significant relationships. Extent of father involvement was related to toddler development with both fathers and mothers. However, results highlighted the salience of qualitative characteristics (attitudes, behavioral sensitivity) rather than quantitative characteristics (amount of father's time with child) of parenting for toddler development.