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Bedsharing, temperament, and sleep disturbance in early childhood
M J Hayes1, K G Parker, B Sallinen
1Department of Psychology, University of Maine, Orono 04469, USA. MHayes@Maine.Edu
Insights
Preschoolers who share beds often have irregular bedtimes, sleep onset difficulties, and more night waking. Parental ratings link bedsharing to less adaptable and less rhythmic temperaments.
Area of Science:
- Child Psychology
- Sleep Medicine
- Developmental Pediatrics
Background:
- Night-waking and bedsharing are common in preschool-aged children.
- Temperament may influence sleep behaviors and parental sleep arrangements.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore temperament as a factor in night-waking and bedsharing among preschool children.
- To examine the relationship between child temperament, sleep habits, and bedsharing practices.
Main Methods:
- A study involving 67 preschool children (ages 2.4-5.6 years) from two Northeastern US preschools.
- Parents and teachers rated child temperament using the Carey Temperament Scale.
- Parents completed inventories on sleep habits and sleeping arrangements, including bedsharing frequency.
Main Results:
- Parental ratings indicated bedsharers had less regular bedtimes, sleep onset difficulties, and more night-waking.
- Bedsharing children were rated by parents as more intense, less adaptable, and less rhythmic in temperament.
- Teacher temperament ratings did not predict bedsharing and showed poor agreement with parental ratings.
Conclusions:
- Bedsharing in preschool-aged children is complex, influenced by parental perceptions of temperament, sleep habits, and night waking.
- Findings suggest implications for the clinical evaluation of sleep disturbances in young children.
Study Objective:
Temperament was explored as a factor in both night-waking and bedsharing in preschool-aged children.
Design:
Bedsharers and solitary sleepers were categorized based on the frequency of current bedsharing. MANOVA was used to examine associations among temperament and sleep measures.
Setting:
Two preschools affiliated with a rural university in the Northeast United States. Participants. 67 children between 2.4-5.6 years of age from two University-affiliated preschools were studied.
Intervention:
Child temperament was rated by parents and teachers using the Carey Temperament Scale and compared to night-waking, current sleep habits, and the circumstances in which bedsharing occurred
Measurements And Results:
Parents and preschool teachers completed the Carey Temperament Scale for 3-7 year olds. Parents also scored the Sleep Habits Inventory and the Sleeping Arrangements Inventory, which provided a current and retrospective history of the child's sleep location and sleep patterns. Parents' ratings showed that bedsharers have less regular bedtimes; difficulty with sleep onset; more night-waking; and seek out the parents following awakening during the night. Temperamentally, bedsharers were found to be more intense and exhibit less adaptability and rhythmicity. However, teachers' temperament ratings did not predict bedsharing and were not concordant with parental ratings.
Conclusions:
These findings suggest that bedsharing at preschool age is a complex phenomenon related to parents' ratings of child temperament, sleep habits, and disturbances such as night waking. Implications for the clinical assessment of sleep disorders are discussed.