Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, H3C 3J7, Canada.
J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol. 2012;41(4):471-81. doi: 10.1080/15374416.2012.686101. Epub 2012 May 29.
The current study aimed to examine infant sleep duration as a moderator of the relations between maternal sensitivity and child externalizing and internalizing symptoms, in a prospective longitudinal design. Fifty-five Caucasian infants (33 girls) took part in 2 assessments, at 1 and 4 years. Maternal sensitivity was rated at 1 year, based on observations performed throughout a home visit. Infant sleep duration (i.e., nighttime sleep duration and 24-hr sleep duration) was assessed at 1 year as well, using a sleep diary completed by mothers. At 4 years, mothers completed the Child Behavior Checklist to assess children's internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Results indicated that maternal sensitivity interacted with infant nighttime sleep duration, such that there were negative relations between sensitivity and subsequent internalizing and externalizing symptoms only for children who slept more at night. Interactions using 24-hr sleep duration as the moderator were not significant. These findings add to an emerging literature on the importance of sleep for children's daytime functioning by suggesting that inadequate or insufficient sleep in infancy can interfere with the normal developmental process linking early maternal sensitivity to child subsequent emotional and behavioral adjustment.
本研究旨在通过前瞻性纵向设计，检验婴儿睡眠时间作为母亲敏感性与儿童外化和内化症状关系的调节变量。55 名白种人婴儿（33 名女孩）参与了 2 次评估，分别在 1 岁和 4 岁时进行。母亲敏感性在 1 岁时进行评估，根据家庭访问期间进行的观察进行评估。婴儿的睡眠时间（即夜间睡眠时间和 24 小时睡眠时间）也在 1 岁时通过母亲填写的睡眠日记进行评估。在 4 岁时，母亲完成了儿童行为检查表，以评估儿童的内化和外化症状。结果表明，母亲敏感性与婴儿夜间睡眠时间相互作用，即只有夜间睡眠时间较多的儿童，敏感性与随后的内化和外化症状之间才存在负相关。使用 24 小时睡眠时间作为调节变量的交互作用不显著。这些发现通过表明婴儿期睡眠不足或不足会干扰将早期母亲敏感性与儿童随后的情绪和行为调整联系起来的正常发育过程，为睡眠对儿童日间功能重要性的新兴文献增添了内容。
