Origins and Implications of Sleep Deficits in Mothers of Toddlers

描述（由申请人提供）：拟议的研究解决了一个研究不足，但在特定的社会和发展背景下，睡眠变化可能是重要的含义：它询问母亲的睡眠不足是如何出现的，以及它们对幼儿的养育意味着什么。幼儿给父母带来了挑战，许多幼儿的父母经历了睡眠不足，这可能会放大育儿挑战。这项研究将测试一个模型，其中（1）家庭压力沿着家庭和母亲的个人资源影响（2）家庭混乱，即更少的可预测的例程和更多的噪音，这反过来影响（3）母亲的睡眠，即程度，碎片和可变性，这影响（4）母亲的认知自我调节状态水平，以结构化任务测量，这反过来又影响了（5）母亲对幼儿的养育。该研究还将测试一组假设的母亲气质调节器，这些调节器可以调节从混乱到睡眠（通过特质消极情感），从睡眠到自我调节再到养育子女（通过特质努力控制和特质积极情感）的路径。该研究将跟踪250名母亲的样本，从幼儿年龄30个月到幼儿年龄36个月，并对连续性和变化的预测因素进行建模。样本将在两个地理区域招募，代表一系列社会经济水平以及欧洲裔美国人和非洲裔美国人家庭。这项研究将进一步了解家庭环境和影响母亲睡眠不足的母亲因素，睡眠不足如何与自我调节和养育有关，以及母亲气质维度如何调节从环境到母亲睡眠以及从母亲睡眠到自我调节和养育的路径。最终，这项研究将为儿童早期临床和预防研究提供新的目标。 公共卫生相关性：这项纵向研究将展示幼儿母亲的睡眠缺陷如何从远端压力源和资源以及直接的家庭混乱中产生，以及它们如何通过认知自我调节的关键机制与养育缺陷相关联。研究结果将改善对睡眠和养育问题的预防和干预，并最终用于儿童早期行为问题的预防。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The proposed study addresses an under-researched, but likely important implication of sleep variations in a particular social and developmental context: It asks how mothers' sleep deficits arise and what they mean for parenting of toddlers. Toddlers create challenges for parents and many parents of toddlers experience sleep deficits, which could amplify the parenting challenges. The study will test a model in which (1) family stressors along with both family and mothers' individual resources influence (2) family chaos, in terms of fewer predictable routines and more noise, which in turn influences (3) mothers' sleep, in terms of extent, fragmentation, and variability, which influences (4) mothers' state levels of cognitive self-regulation, measured in structured tasks, which in turn influences (5) mothers' parenting of their toddlers. The study will also test a set of hypothesized mother temperament moderators of the paths from chaos to sleep (by trait negative affectivity), from sleep to self-regulation to parenting (by trait effortful control and by trait positive affectivity). The study will follow a sample of 250 mothers from toddler age 30 months to toddler age 36 months, and both continuity and predictors of change will be modeled. The sample will be recruited in two geographical areas and represent a range of socioeconomic levels and both European-American and African-American families. The study will advance knowledge about family environment and mother factors influencing mothers' sleep deficits, about how sleep deficits link to self-regulation and parenting, and about how mother temperament dimensions moderate the paths from environment to mother sleep and from mother sleep to self-regulation and parenting. Ultimately, the study will offer new targets for early childhood clinical and prevention research. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This longitudinal study will show how sleep deficits of mothers of toddlers arise from distal stressors and resources and immediate household chaos, and how they come to be associated with parenting deficits via the key mechanism of cognitive self-regulation. Findings will improve prevention and intervention for sleep and parenting problems, and ultimately for early childhood prevention of behavior problems.