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Sleep problems in preschoolers and maternal depressive symptoms: An evaluation of mother- and child-driven effects
Hilde Ystrom1, Wendy Nilsen2, Mari Hysing3
1Child and Adolescence Outpatient Clinic Oslo South, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital.
Insights
Child sleep problems significantly impact maternal depressive symptoms, with child-driven effects being stronger. Treating childhood sleep issues can improve maternal mental health and prevent future problems.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Maternal Mental Health
- Child Sleep Science
Background:
- Child sleep problems are frequently linked to maternal depressive symptoms.
- The precise nature of this association, whether direct or due to shared risk factors, remains incompletely understood.
- Potential pathways include child-to-mother, mother-to-child, or common familial influences.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the directionality of the association between child sleep problems and maternal depressive symptoms.
- To differentiate between child-driven, mother-driven, and common risk factor effects.
- To inform clinical interventions for maternal depression and child sleep disturbances.
Main Methods:
- Utilized an autoregressive fixed-effects model with longitudinal data.
- Analyzed a community-based sample of 956 families.
- Assessed children at 1.5, 2.5, and 4 years of age.
Main Results:
- Both child-driven and mother-driven processes significantly explained the association.
- Child-driven processes demonstrated a substantially larger effect size compared to mother-driven processes.
- The findings indicate a bidirectional relationship, with child sleep problems influencing maternal mood.
Conclusions:
- Interventions targeting child sleep problems are likely to yield significant improvements in maternal depressive symptoms.
- Addressing current child sleep issues may directly reduce future sleep problems and indirectly benefit maternal mental health.
- Health professionals should screen mothers at risk for depression for co-occurring child sleep problems.
Abstract:
Child sleep problems are associated with maternal depressive symptoms. It is unclear to what extent the association is due to direct effects or common risk factors for mother and child. Direct effects could represent child-driven processes, where child sleep problems influence maternal depressive symptoms, or mother-driven processes, where maternal depressive symptoms influence child sleep problems. Common factors could be shared genetic and familial environmental risk. Child- and mother-driven processes are direct in the sense that they are not due to common factors. However, such processes could be mediated by a range of unmeasured variables. By using an autoregressive fixed-effects model on a community-based longitudinal sample comprising 956 families assessed when children were 1.5, 2.5, and 4 years of age, we estimated the direction of effect between, and common causes of, child sleep problems and maternal depressive symptoms. We were able to explain the association between child sleep problems and maternal depressive symptoms by both child-driven and mother-driven processes. The effect of child-driven processes was significantly larger than the effect of mother-driven processes. The clinical implication of the study is that treatment of child sleep problems will have considerable effect on maternal depressive symptoms. Furthermore, our model supports that treatment of current child sleep problems will have a direct effect on future sleep problems and also an indirect effect on future maternal depressive symptoms. We recommend that health professionals assess child sleep problems in mothers at risk for depression. (PsycINFO Database Record