Department of Psychology, University of Montreal , Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Behav Sleep Med. 2020 Jul-Aug;18(4):523-536. doi: 10.1080/15402002.2019.1629442. Epub 2019 Jun 24.
OBJECTIVES/BACKGROUND: Although much research has investigated the associations between children's sleep and their temperament, the direction of these associations remains unclear, largely due to a lack of longitudinal studies with repeated assessments of both sleep and temperament. Aiming to clarify the temporal precedence of these two constructs, the current study investigated reciprocal associations between toddlers' sleep and temperament with a longitudinal design.
The sample consisted of 82 toddlers (39 girls) assessed twice.
At both 2 ( = 25.23 months; = 1.11) and 3 years of age ( = 36.81 months; = 0.91), toddlers' sleep duration and quality were assessed using actigraphy and their temperament was reported by their mothers with the Toddler Behavior Assessment Questionnaire.
Shorter nighttime sleep duration (ß = - .28, = .03) and lower sleep efficiency (ß = - .33, = .01) at 2 years predicted more temperamental proneness to anger at 3 years, while greater temperamental social fear at 2 years was predictive of shorter 24-hour (ß = - .44, = .02) and nighttime (ß = - .36, = .04) sleep duration at 3 years. Associations between temperamental activity level and sleep variables were non-significant.
The direction of the associations between toddlers' sleep and their temperament may vary according to which dimension of temperament is considered. These findings should encourage practitioners to identify the beginning of the causal chain leading to sleep or temperamental difficulties so as to develop well-tailored intervention plans.
目的/背景：尽管有大量研究调查了儿童睡眠与气质之间的关联，但这些关联的方向仍不清楚，主要是因为缺乏对睡眠和气质进行重复评估的纵向研究。为了明确这两个结构之间的时间先后顺序，本研究采用纵向设计，调查了幼儿睡眠与气质之间的相互关联。
该样本由 82 名幼儿（39 名女孩）组成，进行了两次评估。
在 2 岁（= 25.23 个月；= 1.11）和 3 岁（= 36.81 个月；= 0.91）时，使用活动记录仪评估幼儿的睡眠持续时间和质量，并使用幼儿行为评估问卷由其母亲报告幼儿的气质。
2 岁时夜间睡眠时间较短（β= -0.28，= 0.03）和睡眠效率较低（β= -0.33，= 0.01）预测 3 岁时更容易发脾气，而 2 岁时更大的气质社交恐惧则预测 3 岁时 24 小时（β= -0.44，= 0.02）和夜间（β= -0.36，= 0.04）睡眠时间较短。气质活动水平与睡眠变量之间的关联不显著。
幼儿睡眠与气质之间的关联方向可能因所考虑的气质维度而异。这些发现应该鼓励从业者识别导致睡眠或气质困难的因果链的开始，以便制定量身定制的干预计划。
