Kitsaras George, Goodwin Michaela, Kelly Michael, Pretty Iain, Allan Julia
Dental Health Unit, Williams House, Manchester Science Park, The University of Manchester, Manchester M15 6SE, UK.
Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1TN, UK.
Children (Basel). 2021 Jan 15;8(1):50. doi: 10.3390/children8010050.
Bedtime routines are a highly recurrent family activity with important health, social and behavioural implications. This study examined perceived barriers to, and facilitators of, formulating, establishing, and maintaining optimal bedtime routines in families with young children.
Participants completed a semi-structured interview based on the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF). Analysis followed a deductive approach.
A total of 32 parents participated in the study. Most participants ( = 30) were females, were white ( = 25) and stay at home parents ( = 12).
Key barriers included lack of appropriate knowledge and sources of information, problematic skills development, social influences, cognitive overload, and lack of motivation for change. Facilitators included social role, access to resources, positive intentions, beliefs about consequences and reinforcement. In particular, optimal bedtime routines were less likely to be enacted when parents were tired/fatigued and there was a strong effect of habit, with suboptimal routines maintained over time due to past experiences and a lack of awareness about the importance of a good bedtime routine.
Several theory-based, and potentially modifiable, determinants of optimal bedtime routines were identified in this study, providing important information for future interventions. Several of the key determinants identified were transient (tiredness) and/or non-conscious (habit), suggesting that future interventions may need to be deployed in real time, and should extend beyond conventional techniques.
睡前例行程序是一项高度重复的家庭活动，对健康、社交和行为具有重要影响。本研究调查了幼儿家庭在制定、建立和维持最佳睡前例行程序方面所感知到的障碍和促进因素。
参与者基于理论领域框架（TDF）完成了一次半结构化访谈。分析采用演绎法。
共有32名家长参与了该研究。大多数参与者（n = 30）为女性，是白人（n = 25）且为全职家长（n = 12）。
关键障碍包括缺乏适当的知识和信息来源、技能发展存在问题、社会影响、认知过载以及缺乏改变的动力。促进因素包括社会角色、资源获取、积极意图、对后果的信念以及强化。特别是，当父母疲惫时，不太可能实施最佳睡前例行程序，而且习惯的影响很大，由于过去的经历以及对良好睡前例行程序重要性缺乏认识，次优例行程序会随着时间持续存在。
本研究确定了几个基于理论且可能可改变的最佳睡前例行程序的决定因素，为未来的干预措施提供了重要信息。所确定的几个关键决定因素是短暂的（疲劳）和/或无意识的（习惯），这表明未来的干预措施可能需要实时实施，并且应超越传统技术。
