Infant Sleep Development: Contributions of Infant Vagal Tone and Parenting

描述(由申请人提供)：睡眠问题是儿童和成人身体、情绪和行为健康不良的风险因素(Dahl&El-Sheikh，2007)。生命的第一年是巩固和调节睡眠-觉醒模式的重要时期，人们发现睡眠-觉醒模式可以预测生命后期的睡眠模式。这些睡眠模式可能是婴儿的内在特征造成的，如气质(如Carey，1974)和生理(如El-Sheikh&Buckholt，2005)，以及外部因素，如照顾(见Sadeh，Tikotzky，&Scher，2010)。虽然这些因素已经被独立研究，但它们之间的双向和纵向关系还没有被研究与睡眠模式的发展有关。目前的研究旨在检验照料和婴儿迷走神经张力(据称是自我调节的生理指标)之间的相互作用，以预测婴儿在出生前六个月的睡眠模式。由于发现睡前和夜间的自我调节能力是良好睡眠质量的最重要预测因素之一，我们将从两个方面探讨睡眠和婴儿迷走神经调节之间的联系：(1)对白天的挑战做出反应；(2)在睡觉时间。我们将调查白天和晚上照顾行为的调节作用，并检查3到6个月期间睡眠质量和迷走神经调节之间的因果关系。最后，由于非洲裔美国儿童可能比欧洲裔美国儿童有更多的睡眠困难，我们将在非洲裔美国人样本中探索这些过程。在未来的研究中，在进行组间比较之前，重要的是确定这一组睡眠模式的早期预测因素，并探索组内差异。拟议的试点研究包括在3个月和6个月大时进行家庭访问，其中将包括对婴儿迷走神经调节和照顾者与儿童互动的评估。每次访问之后，将在睡前和夜间进行7天的数据收集，包括睡眠行为(活动和视频记录)和睡前迷走神经张力的客观测量。此外，照看行为(实践和情感可获得性)将通过夜间(一次)拍摄，母亲们将 每天早上通过电话完成一篇睡眠日记。我们目前对不同水平的分析如何影响睡眠发育的了解有限。重要的是超越依赖产妇报告的横断面评估，并通过客观衡量确定在这一关键时期发展的模式和轨迹。了解这些过程对于制定适当的预防或干预措施至关重要，这将有助于减少可能延伸到儿童后期及以后的早期睡眠问题的患病率。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Sleep problems are a risk factor for poor physical, emotional, and behavioral health in children and adults (Dahl & El-Sheikh, 2007). The first year of life is an important period for the consolidation and regulation of sleep-wake patterns which have been found to predict sleep patterns later in life. These sleep patterns likely result from intrinsic characteristics of the infant such as temperament (e.g., Carey, 1974) and physiology (e.g., El-Sheikh & Buckhalt, 2005), as well as extrinsic factors such as caregiving (see Sadeh, Tikotzky, & Scher, 2010). Although these factors have been studied independently, the bi-directional and longitudinal relationship between them has not been examined in relation to developing sleep patterns. The current study aims to examine the interplay between caregiving and infant vagal tone (a purported physiological index of self-regulation) in prediction of developing infant sleep patterns over the first six months of life. Due to findings that the abilit to self-regulate at bedtime and through the night is one of the most significant predictors of good sleep quality, we will explore the association between sleep and infant vagal regulation across two contexts: (1) in response to challenge during the day, and (2) at bedtime. We will investigate the moderating role of caregiving behavior during the day and at night and examine the causal relationship between sleep quality and vagal regulation between 3 and 6 months. Finally, due to findings that African American children may have more sleep difficulties than European American children, we will explore these processes in an African American sample. It is important to identify early predictors of sleep patterns in this group, and explore within-group differences, before making between-group comparisons in future studies. The proposed pilot study involves a home visit at 3 and 6 months of age which will include assessments of infant vagal regulation and caregiver-child interactions. Each visit will be followed by 7 days of data collection at bedtime and through the night consisting of objective measures of sleep behavior (actigraphy and video recording) and vagal tone at bedtime. In addition, caregiving behaviors (practices and emotional availability) will be filmed through the night (one time) and mothers will complete a sleep diary by phone each morning. Our current understanding is limited about how various levels of analyses influence sleep development. It is important to move beyond cross-sectional assessments relying on maternal report and identify patterns and trajectories, via objective measurement, that develop during this critical period. Understanding these processes is essential for developing appropriate preventions, or interventions, that will help reduce the prevalence of early sleep problems that may extend into later childhood and beyond.