Is bedsharing beyond infancy associated with childhood and adolescent depression and anxiety?

Research on bedsharing, the practice of parents sleeping on the same surface with their children, has largely focused on infancy, with little known about the implications of bedsharing that begins beyond the first year of life.

To examine whether bedsharing beyond infancy is associated with an increased risk of depression and anxiety in childhood and adolescence.

Participants (N = 7077) were drawn from The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). Mothers reported their children's nighttime sleep location at 6 months, 18 months, and 3.5 years. Diagnoses of depression and anxiety disorders were assessed at child ages 8 and 13 years.

Later-onset bedsharing (at 18 months or 3.5 years, but not at 6 months) was associated with an increased likelihood of anxiety disorders at age 8 (adjusted OR = 2.83, 95% CI = 1.40-5.71), and this association remained significant after correction for multiple comparisons. Later-onset bedsharing was also associated with anxiety disorders at age 13 (adjusted OR = 2.84; 95% CI = 1.14-7.04), although this association did not remain significant after correction for multiple comparisons. No significant associations were found between early-only bedsharing (at 6 months) and depression or anxiety disorders at either age 8 or 13 years.

Findings suggest that not all bedsharing is associated with later adverse outcomes. Bedsharing that begins beyond infancy may reflect different underlying child, family, or developmental factors than bedsharing occurring only in infancy and may serve as a marker of elevated risk for later anxiety.