Cosleeping, sleep disturbances, children's behavioral problems, and parenting self ‐efficacy among Korean American families

Abstract The purpose of this study was to compare sleep disturbances of children and their mothers, children's behavioral problems, and parenting self‐efficacy between Korean American families who coslept and those who did not cosleep. Forty‐eight mothers of children between 3 and 8 years of age completed the following surveys: Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire, Pediatric Symptom Checklist, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Parenting Self‐Efficacy Questionnaire, and Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans II. Overall, 48% (n = 23) of families coslept, and families with younger children coslept more than families with older children (). When the families were divided into non‐cosleeping (i.e., rarely) and cosleeping (i.e., sometimes and usually) groups, 100% of the cosleeping children had sleep disturbances compared to 56% of the non‐cosleeping children (). For mothers, 28% (n = 7) of the non‐cosleeping mothers reported sleep disturbances, compared to 52% (n = 12) of the cosleeping mothers ). Children's behavioral problems were not different between the two groups (F = 1.78, p = NS). Cosleeping mothers reported lower parenting self‐efficacy than non‐cosleeping mothers (F = 6.26, p < .05). When providing care to Korean American families with young children, their cosleeping, sleep disturbances, and parenting self‐efficacy need to be addressed.
Source: Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing - Category: Nursing Authors: Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLE Source Type: research