Department of Psychology, University of Houston, Houston, TX.
Department of Psychology, Loyola University Maryland, Baltimore, MD.
J Dev Behav Pediatr. 2022;43(8):e525-e532. doi: 10.1097/DBP.0000000000001090. Epub 2022 May 4.
Evidence of poor sleep health among children in foster care continues to mount, but information about whether and how sleep problems are addressed is unavailable. The goal of this study was to begin to fill these significant knowledge gaps.
Four hundred eighty-five foster caregivers from across the United States completed a survey focused on the sleep health of one child, 4 to 11 years ( M = 6.4; SD = 2.2) currently in their care. Caregivers provided quantitative and qualitative responses to questions regarding training, information, and services received in relation to their child's sleep. Caregivers also reported on the factors and strategies they perceived as most important for helping children in their care sleep well.
Only 13% of caregivers reported receiving any information/education about sleep from agencies or case workers, whereas 55% had sought help from a health provider related to their child's sleep. Nearly half of all caregivers (46%) reported giving their child melatonin. Caregivers reported that a bedtime routine/consistency, reassurance of safety/love, and a calming environment were most important for helping their child sleep well. A recurrent theme in qualitative responses was a need to mitigate child fear/anxiety at night.
Children in foster care face a range of risk factors that increase the likelihood of poor/insufficient sleep, but these findings suggest this critical aspect of health requires greater clinical and research attention. As these data were collected during the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic, replication studies are necessary.
寄养儿童的睡眠健康状况不佳的证据不断增加，但关于睡眠问题是否以及如何得到解决的信息尚不清楚。本研究的目的是开始填补这些重大知识空白。
美国各地的 485 名寄养照顾者完成了一项针对一名 4 至 11 岁（M=6.4，SD=2.2）目前在其照顾下的儿童睡眠健康的调查。照顾者对与他们孩子睡眠有关的培训、信息和服务的问题提供了定量和定性的回答。照顾者还报告了他们认为对帮助他们照顾的孩子睡眠有帮助的最重要的因素和策略。
只有 13%的照顾者报告从机构或社工那里收到任何关于睡眠的信息/教育，而 55%的照顾者曾就其孩子的睡眠问题向医疗保健提供者寻求帮助。近一半的照顾者（46%）报告给孩子服用褪黑素。照顾者报告说，睡前常规/一致性、保证安全/爱，以及营造一个平静的环境对帮助孩子睡个好觉最重要。定性反应中的一个反复出现的主题是需要减轻孩子夜间的恐惧/焦虑。
寄养儿童面临一系列增加睡眠不佳/不足可能性的风险因素，但这些发现表明，健康的这一关键方面需要更多的临床和研究关注。由于这些数据是在 COVID-19 大流行的最初几个月收集的，因此需要进行复制研究。
