Hairston Ilana S, Handelzalts Jonathan E
Psychology Department, Tel Hai Academic College, Qiryat Shemona, Israel.
The Institute of Information Processing and Decision Making (IIPDM), University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.
J Clin Sleep Med. 2025 Sep 16. doi: 10.5664/jcsm.11880.
Maternal reports are a primary source of information regarding infant sleep and temperament, yet these perceptions may be influenced by maternal psychological factors. Prior research suggests complex relationships between maternal mood and perceptions of infant behavior, but longitudinal data remain scarce.
This longitudinal study examined how maternal sleep quality and depressive symptoms relate to perceived infant temperament and sleep difficulties. A community sample of 76 mothers with healthy full-term infants completed questionnaires at approximately 6 and 12 months postpartum. Measures included the Infant Sleep Questionnaire (ISQ), the Infant Behavior Questionnaire (IBQ), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Seemingly unrelated regression models and Shapley value decomposition were used to assess predictors of perceived infant sleep and temperament.
Perceived sleep difficulties and negative temperament were significantly correlated (at T1: =0.243, =.040; at T2: =0.364, =.002). However, ISQ scores at 12 months were best predicted by temporally proximal nighttime awakenings, accounting 40.8% of the variance explained by the model, whereas IBQ negative affectivity was predicted by earlier maternal depressive symptoms (24.9%), sleep difficulties (11.3%), and infant awakenings at 6 months (32.4% of explained variance).
These findings suggest distinct cognitive bases for maternal perceptions of infant sleep and temperament. While infant sleep behaviors largely drive perceived sleep problems, maternal psychological well-being significantly influences perceptions of temperament. Understanding the differential impact of maternal factors can inform assessment strategies and interventions aimed at promoting infant well-being.
母亲的报告是有关婴儿睡眠和气质的主要信息来源，但这些认知可能会受到母亲心理因素的影响。先前的研究表明母亲情绪与对婴儿行为的认知之间存在复杂的关系，但纵向数据仍然稀缺。
这项纵向研究考察了母亲的睡眠质量和抑郁症状与感知到的婴儿气质和睡眠困难之间的关系。一个由76名健康足月儿母亲组成的社区样本在产后约6个月和12个月时完成了问卷调查。测量工具包括婴儿睡眠问卷（ISQ）、婴儿行为问卷（IBQ）、匹兹堡睡眠质量指数（PSQI）和爱丁堡产后抑郁量表（EPDS）。使用看似不相关的回归模型和夏普利值分解来评估感知到的婴儿睡眠和气质的预测因素。
感知到的睡眠困难与负面气质显著相关（T1时：r = 0.243，p = 0.040；T2时：r = 0.364，p = 0.002）。然而，12个月时的ISQ得分最好由近期的夜间觉醒情况预测，占模型解释方差的40.8%，而IBQ负面情绪性则由早期母亲的抑郁症状（24.9%）、睡眠困难（11.3%）和6个月时婴儿的觉醒情况（解释方差的32.4%）预测。
这些发现表明母亲对婴儿睡眠和气质的认知有不同的认知基础。虽然婴儿的睡眠行为在很大程度上导致了感知到的睡眠问题，但母亲的心理健康状况对气质的认知有显著影响。了解母亲因素的不同影响可为旨在促进婴儿健康的评估策略和干预措施提供参考。
