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The cosleeping habits of military children
J F Forbes1, D S Weiss, R A Folen
1Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Tripler Army Medical Center, Honolulu, HI 96895.
Insights
Cosleeping, or children sleeping with parents, is common, especially when fathers are absent. It is less frequent in children with psychiatric conditions.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric sleep practices
- Child psychology
- Family studies
Background:
- Parental concern regarding cosleeping is common, yet objective evidence supporting its prohibition is limited.
- Understanding cosleeping patterns is crucial for pediatric and child psychiatric care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe cosleeping patterns in military-dependent children aged 2 to 13 years.
- To investigate factors associated with cosleeping, such as father absence and psychiatric status.
Main Methods:
- Survey analysis of parental reports.
- Inclusion of 86 children from pediatric and child psychiatry clinics.
- Focus on military dependents aged 2 to 13 years.
Main Results:
- A significant increase in cosleeping was observed in situations of father absence.
- Cosleeping was found to be less frequent within the psychiatric subpopulation.
- Descriptive patterns of cosleeping were identified in the studied group.
Conclusions:
- Cosleeping prevalence is influenced by family structure, specifically father absence.
- Psychiatric conditions in children may be associated with lower rates of cosleeping.
- Further research is needed to understand the implications of these cosleeping patterns.
Abstract:
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.