Children's Sleep and Development: The Role of Family Functioning, Cultural Context, and Body Mass Index

儿童的睡眠问题与各种各样的困难有关，包括抑郁、焦虑、行为问题和学习成绩差。家庭冲突对儿童的负面影响可能通过损害睡眠产生一些影响。睡眠质量好的孩子比睡眠质量差的孩子因家庭压力而出现问题的风险更小。由于许多因素，包括较差的医疗保健、拥挤和多种环境压力因素，社会经济地位较低的家庭的儿童出现睡眠问题的风险更大。儿童肥胖与睡眠不足和健康受损有关，社会经济地位较低的儿童肥胖的风险更大。这个项目是第一个在几年的时间里综合研究所有这些因素的项目。220名儿童及其家庭将参加。孩子们将佩戴活动监测器来测量睡眠的数量和质量，并将通过认知表现和情绪调节来评估。父母将完成家庭压力源的测量，以及孩子的行为和情感问题。教师将提供有关学校行为和成就的信息。这些发现将阐明个体和群体的睡眠差异在儿童发育中的作用，并为教育和临床干预提供信息。

Children's sleep problems have been linked to a wide range of difficulties, including depression, anxiety, conduct problems, and poor school performance. The negative effects of family conflict on children may have some of their influence through impaired sleep. Children who sleep better have less risk for developing problems due to family stressors than those who sleep poorly. Children in lower SES families are at greater risk for sleep problems due to a number of factors, including poorer health care, crowding, and multiple environmental stressors. Childhood obesity is associated with poor sleep and impaired health, and lower SES children are at greater risk for obesity. This project is among the first to study all of these factors in combination over several years. 220 children and their families will participate. Children will wear activity monitors that measure sleep quantity and quality, and will be assessed with measures of cognitive performance and emotion regulation. Parents will complete measures of family stressors, and children's behavioral and emotional problems. Teachers will provide information on school behavior and achievement. The findings will clarify the role of individual and group differences in sleep for children's development and also inform educational and clinical interventions.