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Testing Reciprocal Links Between Trouble Getting to Sleep and Internalizing Behavior Problems, and Bedtime Resistance

Anne Conway1,2, Alison L Miller3,4, Anahid Modrek5,6

  • 1School of Social Work, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA. ac3292@columbia.edu.

Child Psychiatry and Human Development
|November 1, 2016
PubMed

Insights

Specific sleep problems in toddlers show distinct links with behavior issues. Trouble sleeping links to internalizing problems, while externalizing problems connect to bedtime resistance, with sex differences noted.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Pediatric Sleep Medicine
  • Child Behavior

Background:

  • Sleep problems are common in toddlers and linked to adjustment difficulties.
  • The specific directionality of associations between sleep and behavioral issues requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the reciprocal associations between specific sleep problems and behavior problems in toddlers.
  • To investigate the specificity of these links and potential sex differences.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (N=1001).
  • Employed cross-lagged path models to analyze data from 24 to 36 months of age.

Main Results:

  • Found specific associations: trouble getting to sleep predicted internalizing problems, and vice versa.
  • Externalizing problems were linked to bedtime resistance, with internalizing and externalizing problems at 24 months predicting increased bedtime resistance in boys by 36 months.

Conclusions:

  • Highlights specific relationships between sleep disturbances and internalizing/externalizing problems in toddlers.
  • Emphasizes the importance of considering sex differences in the interplay between sleep and behavior problems during early childhood.

Keywords:
Bedtime resistanceInternalizing and externalizing behaviorSex differencesToddlerhoodTrouble getting to sleep

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