Developmental Trajectories of Children's Sleep and Adjustment

大约40%的美国儿童生活在父母冲突程度高的家庭中，与父母婚姻冲突相关的负面心理和行为结果有充分的记录。目前的项目将扩展一个正在进行的纵向项目，该项目一直在研究父母冲突，睡眠和儿童适应之间的相互关系。 该项目中以前的数据收集表明，儿童生物调节的一个重要方面（即睡眠）的中断可能对典型发育中的儿童产生有害影响，并强调了同时检查家庭和睡眠功能在预测儿童结果中的重要性。在儿童进入青春期期间有机会跟踪同一家庭，对于确定婚姻冲突在儿童发展中的作用至关重要。儿童及其家人将被要求参加第三波数据收集，其中婚姻功能和相关过程（例如，情绪不安全感）进行了检查，儿童的睡眠质量和数量进行了评估，并调查了儿童的多个领域的调整（社会情绪，认知，学术）。这一波数据收集将使调查人员能够（1）分析中介随着时间的推移，睡眠在婚姻冲突和儿童发育之间的联系中的作用;（2）确定婚姻冲突、儿童睡眠和日间功能之间的关系是否随着儿童进入青春期而持续、减弱或变得更强，并确定这些关联是否因儿童性别而异，种族或社会经济地位;（3）阐明在婚姻冲突和睡眠中断的背景下可能影响儿童适应的过程。背景因素的知识（例如，高婚姻冲突）和心理生物学过程（例如，与儿童正常家庭风险相关的睡眠）对教育和预防工作、多学科干预以及与儿童和家庭有关的体制结构和政策至关重要。了解睡眠的作用将为促进许多功能领域的弹性，应对和能力的干预提供信息。通过整合来自不同学科的理论和方法，这项研究将促进医学和社会科学之间的合作，最终服务于公共政策和实践。此外，亚拉巴马的高贫困率，以及大量的少数民族（非洲裔美国人）人口，使设置有利于研究多种因素对不同人口的儿童的福祉的影响。 这项研究也有一些教育方面的好处。研究生和本科生将接受跨学科方法的培训，并与不同的人群一起工作。家长、学校管理人员、教师、临床医生和县代理人将有机会参加基于研究结果的培训讲习班和研讨会。最后，结果将通过专业会议，多学科期刊和用户友好的网站。

Approximately 40% of U.S. children live in families characterized by high levels of parental conflict, and the negative psychological and behavioral outcomes associated with exposure to parental marital conflict are well-documented. The current project will extend an ongoing, longitudinal project that has been examining interrelations among parental conflict, sleep, and child adjustment. Previous waves of data collection in this project demonstrated that disruptions in an important facet of children's biological regulation, namely sleep, can have deleterious effects on typically developing children, and highlighted the importance of simultaneously examining family and sleep functioning in the prediction of child outcomes. The opportunity to follow the same families during a time when children are entering puberty is vital to determine the role of marital conflict in child development. Children and their families will be asked to participate in a third wave of data collection in which marital functioning and associated processes (e.g., emotional insecurity) are examined, children's sleep quality and quantity are assessed, and multiple domains of children's adjustment (socio-emotional, cognitive, academic) are investigated. This wave of data collection will allow the investigators to (1) analyze the mediating (intervening) role of sleep in the link between marital conflict and child development over time; (2) determine whether relations among marital conflict, children's sleep, and daytime functioning persist, weaken, or become stronger as children enter puberty, and ascertain if these associations differ based on child sex, ethnicity or socio-economic status; and (3) clarify processes that can influence child adaptation in the context of marital conflict and sleep disruptions. Knowledge of contextual factors (e.g., high marital conflict) and psychobiological processes (e.g., sleep) associated with normative familial risk in children are critical for education and prevention efforts, multidisciplinary intervention, and institutional structures and policies relating to children and families. Understanding the role of sleep will inform interventions that promote resiliency, coping, and competence in many areas of functioning. By integrating theories and methods from different disciplines, the study will facilitate collaborations among the medical and social sciences in the ultimate service of public policy and practice. Further, Alabama's high rate of poverty, as well as large minority (African-American) population, makes the setting advantageous for studying the impact of multiple factors on the well-being of a diverse population of children. There are also a number of educational benefits of this study. Graduate and undergraduate students will be trained in interdisciplinary methods and working with a diverse population. Parents, school administrators, teachers, clinicians, and county agents will have the opportunity to participate in training workshops and seminars that are based on study findings. Finally, results will be presented via professional meetings, multidisciplinary journals, and a user-friendly website.