Marital hostility and child sleep problems: direct and indirect associations via hostile parenting

Inter-Parental Conflict's Persistent Effects on Adolescent Psychological Distress, Adjustment Issues, and Suicidal Ideation During the COVID-19 Lockdown

The current study sought to ascertain the impact of inter-parent conflicts on teenage psychological distress, social and academic adjustment and examine the suicide ideation during the COVID-19. The results found to be alarming as 22% of the individuals displayed suicidal tendencies, with 9% having attempted suicide once, 4.6% having tried suicide twice, and 11% stating that they were likely to do so again. Therefore, the media and the government might host awareness programs and counseling initiatives to promote mental health and prevent suicidal behavior. Moreover, parents may be educated on community level, about the effect of inter-parental arguments on the mental health of their children.

Maternal Prenatal Depressive Symptoms and Infant Sleep Problems: The Role of Infant Temperament and Sex

OBJECTIVES

We aimed to analyze whether (1) infant temperament mediates the impact of maternal prenatal depressive symptoms on infant sleep problems and (2) the mediation role of infant temperament was moderated by the infant's sex.

METHODS

The sample was comprised of 172 mother-infant dyads. Mothers completed self-reported measures of prenatal and postnatal depressive symptoms, infant temperament (negative affectivity, surgency/extraversion, and orienting regulation), and sleep problems.

RESULTS

While controlling for maternal postnatal depressive symptoms, our results revealed that (1) infant negative affectivity at two weeks partially mediated the impact of maternal prenatal depressive symptoms on sleep anxiety at six months, and (2) this mediation is independent of the infant's sex.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings provided evidence that negative affectivity can be an early specific marker of sleep anxiety and can partially explain the negative impact of maternal prenatal depressive symptoms on further sleep problems in the infant.

Analysis, evaluation, and reformulation of social cognitive theory: Toward parent-child shared management in sleep health

THEORETICAL PRINCIPLES

Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) is a middle-range theory with triadic determinism between behavioral, environmental, and personal. SCT has been a guiding framework in health promotion research as it helps understand people's behaviors.

PHENOMENA ADDRESSED

Behavioral Insomnia of Childhood (BIC) is highly prevalent, affecting up to 45% of typically developing children and 80% of children with special healthcare needs. BIC leads to sleep deficiency, disrupted physical and psychological health, poor school performance, behavioral dysfunction, and negatively affects parental and family functioning. Using Fawcett's framework, we analyzed and evaluated SCT in a pediatric sleep context and propose a reformulation of SCT to better inform sleep research.

RESEARCH LINKAGES

SCT is individually focused and does not account for interdependence within relationships. Pediatric sleep interventions have limited long-term effects and sustainability without considering the parent-child dyadic interdependency. We advance the argument that the parent-child shared management (PCSM) perspective is beneficial for understanding pediatric sleep health. PCSM is a concept that reflects the shared responsibility and interdependence that parent and child have for managing child health. It assumes that with parents' ongoing support, children's responsibility for their health management increases over time, along with developmental progression and health-related experiences. We propose reformulating SCT by integrating PCSM in the pediatric sleep context: SCT with Shared Management (SCT-SM). The proposed SCT-SM accounts for parent-child interdependence and role transition. Shared management interventions that engage parents and children in active roles in managing sleep have potential sustainable effects in improving sleep and quality of life. (250).

Family environment characteristics and sleep duration in children: Maternal mental health as a mediator

BACKGROUND

Family environment is a key factor affecting children's health. However, little is known about whether and how the family environment affects sleep duration in children. This study investigated the effects of both physical and social characteristics of the family environment on sleep duration in children and determined whether these associations were mediated by maternal mental health.

METHODS

Data were obtained from the Taiwan Birth Cohort Study. A total of 19,400 children who completed 6-month, 18-month, 3-year, 5.5-year, and 8-year surveys were analyzed. The physical family environment characteristics were household crowding and housing quality. Family functioning was used as an indicator of family social environment. Multiple linear regression and path analysis were performed to test the hypotheses.

RESULTS

The children living in crowded households had shorter sleep durations (β = -0.03, p < .001). Superior housing quality and family functioning were associated with longer sleep durations (β = 0.04 and 0.02, respectively, ps < .01). The effects of housing quality and family functioning on sleep duration were mediated by maternal mental health.

CONCLUSIONS

Both physical and social characteristics of the family environment are critical to sleep duration in children. The effects of family environment characteristics on sleep duration in children are in part mediated by maternal mental health. Interventions to improve sleep during childhood by targeting the family environment may be more effective when maternal mental health is considered.

Developmental trajectories of toddler sleep problems: can a person-centered approach help identify children at risk?

STUDY OBJECTIVES

Previous research examining toddler sleep problems has relied almost exclusively on variable-centered statistical approaches to analyze these data, which provide helpful information about the development of the average child. The current study examined whether person-centered trajectory analysis, a statistical technique that can identify subgroups of children who differ in their initial level and/or trajectory of sleep problems, has the potential to inform our understanding of toddler sleep problems and their development.

METHODS

Families (N = 185) were assessed at 12, 24, 30, and 36 months of child age. Latent class growth analysis was used to test for subgroups that differed in their 24-36 month sleep problems. Subgroups were compared on child 36-month externalizing, internalizing, and total problem behaviors, and on 12 month maternal mental health, inter-parental conflict, and maternal parenting behaviors.

RESULTS

Results support a four-class solution, with "low, stable," "low, increasing," "high, increasing," and "high decreasing" classes. The classes whose sleep problems persisted or worsened over time had worse behavioral problems than those whose symptoms improved or remained stably low. Additionally, 12 month maternal depression and global symptom severity, intimate partner violence, and maternal harsh-intrusive parenting behaviors discriminated between the classes that had similar levels of 24 month sleep disturbance but who had diverging trajectories over time.

CONCLUSIONS

This statistical approach appears to have the potential to increase understanding of sleep problem trajectories in the early years of life. Maternal mental health, intimate partner violence, and parenting behaviors may be clinically useful markers of risk for the persistence or development of toddler sleep problems.

Parenting in the Context of the Child: Genetic and Social Processes

The focus on the role of parenting in child development has a long-standing history. When measures of parenting precede changes in child development, researchers typically infer a causal role of parenting practices and attitudes on child development. However, this research is usually conducted with parents raising their own biological offspring. Such research designs cannot account for the effects of genes that are common to parents and children, nor for genetically influenced traits in children that influence how they are parented and how parenting affects them. The aim of this monograph is to provide a clearer view of parenting by synthesizing findings from the Early Growth and Development Study (EGDS). EGDS is a longitudinal study of adopted children, their birth parents, and their rearing parents studied across infancy and childhood. Families (N = 561) were recruited in the United States through adoption agencies between 2000 and 2010. Data collection began when adoptees were 9 months old (males = 57.2%; White 54.5%, Black 13.2%, Hispanic/Latinx 13.4%, Multiracial 17.8%, other 1.1%). The median child age at adoption placement was 2 days (M = 5.58, SD = 11.32). Adoptive parents were predominantly in their 30s, White, and coming from upper-middle- or upper-class backgrounds with high educational attainment (a mode at 4-year college or graduate degree). Most adoptive parents were heterosexual couples, and were married at the beginning of the project. The birth parent sample was more racially and ethnically diverse, but the majority (70%) were White. At the beginning of the study, most birth mothers and fathers were in their 20s, with a mode of educational attainment at high school degree, and few of them were married. We have been following these family members over time, assessing their genetic influences, prenatal environment, rearing environment, and child development. Controlling for effects of genes common to parents and children, we confirmed some previously reported associations between parenting, parent psychopathology, and marital adjustment in relation to child problematic and prosocial behavior. We also observed effects of children's heritable characteristics, characteristics thought to be transmitted from parent to child by genetic means, on their parents and how those effects contributed to subsequent child development. For example, we found that genetically influenced child impulsivity and social withdrawal both elicited harsh parenting, whereas a genetically influenced sunny disposition elicited parental warmth. We found numerous instances of children's genetically influenced characteristics that enhanced positive parental influences on child development or that protected them from harsh parenting. Integrating our findings, we propose a new, genetically informed process model of parenting. We posit that parents implicitly or explicitly detect genetically influenced liabilities and assets in their children. We also suggest future research into factors such as marital adjustment, that favor parents responding with appropriate protection or enhancement. Our findings illustrate a productive use of genetic information in prevention research: helping parents respond effectively to a profile of child strengths and challenges rather than using genetic information simply to identify some children unresponsive to current preventive interventions.

Daily concordance between ecological stressors and sleep in young minority children during the pre-COVID-19 outbreak period

OBJECTIVE

As the COVID-19 pandemic brings widespread changes in families, the sociology of sleep becomes noticeable. Yet, the socio-contextual determinants of a biopsychosocial phenomenon as sleep are poorly investigated. We examine changes concomitantly occurring in the child's sleep per familial and community stressors.

METHODS

During the pre-COVID-19 outbreak period, in 24 minority children (5.4 ± 1.7 years old, 54.2% girls), sleep was objectively measured 24 h for two consecutive weeks, and this was repeated three times over the study period of three months. The caregiver filled out questionnaires surveying sociodemographic, community and family aspects.

RESULTS

Children went to bed at 22:26 and woke up at 07:04, with each a variability of about 50 min. Money and time were revealed as related key stressors to sleep. Five dimensions best fitted their association. In general, concurrent changes within the individual child indicate that mean sleep variables seem to relate to predominantly features of the stressors (explained variance of 34.7 to 56.7%), while variability of sleep tends to associate to situational aspects of the stressors (explained variance of 30.4 to 61.8%). Associations were best explained in terms of the 24 h dimension, particularly exposing sleep variability.

CONCLUSION

Individual variabilities in a child's sleep are associated with familial resources, such as caregiver's time to self, money and basic needs. Time spent in bed, a modifiable factor by society and shaper of sleep quantity and quality, plays a key role in stressor-sleep associations. Insights from biopsychosocial perspectives may be valuable for understanding COVID-19 sleep studies, and the development of (post-) COVID-19 sleep recommendations.

Does Bed Sharing with an Infant Influence Parents’ Sexual Life? A Scoping Review in Western Countries

Bed sharing—the sharing of a sleeping surface by parents and children—is a common, yet controversial, practice. While most research has focused on the public health aspect of this practice, much less is known regarding its effect on the marital relationship. The aim of the present study was to conduct a scoping review on the impact of parent–infant bed sharing sleeping practices on the sexual and marital relationship of couples. The qualitative synthesis of six studies on this topic suggests that overall, bed sharing does not exert a significant negative impact on family functioning; when it does, it appears to be related to incongruent parental beliefs and expectations, especially when bed sharing is not an intentional choice of sleep arrangement, and there are other confounding factors such as fatigue and psychological distress. Suggestions for future studies and clinical implications are discussed.

Parental Relationship Quality and Adolescent Depressive Symptoms: Investigating The Role of Parental Warmth and Hostility in United States Military Families

Military life is characterized by regular transitions; thus, parents are positioned to serve as stable protective factors for adolescents. We investigated a theory-informed model that assessed direct and indirect relationships between parental relationship quality, parental behaviors, and adolescent depressive symptomatology using cross-sectional data of military families in the United States (US). Participant families (N = 229), recruited via convenience sampling to take a computer-based survey, included an active duty father, his spouse, and an adolescent. Mother's couple relationship quality was indirectly linked to adolescent depressive symptoms through maternal warmth. Conversely, father's couple relationship quality was indirectly linked to adolescent depressive symptoms via paternal hostility. In other words, parental couple relationship quality was indirectly related to adolescent depressive symptoms, but this relationship differed by parent (i.e., warmth for mothers and hostility for fathers). Findings were similar for adolescent boys and girls.

Quality of father-child relationships as a predictor of sleep developments during preschool years

Substantial developmental changes in sleep occur during the preschool period, but few studies have investigated the factors that forecast these developments. The aim of this study was to examine whether three aspects of father-child relationships in toddlerhood predicted individual differences in developmental patterns of change in five actigraphy-derived sleep variables during the preschool period (N = 67; sleep assessed yearly between 2 and 4 years). In a predominantly White and middle-to-higher income sample, paternal mind-mindedness and quality of father-child interactions were assessed during father-child free play at 18 months and fathers self-reported on their involvement in childrearing at age 2. Multilevel growth modeling revealed that children whose father made more mind-related comments during father-child interactions had a higher proportion of sleep taking place during nighttime as well as shorter daytime and total sleep duration at 2 years. This was, however, followed by a relative leveling off (i.e., less rapid change) of these sleep features between 2 and 4 years. Given previous studies documenting that nighttime sleep proportion increases while daytime and total sleep duration decrease during preschool years, the findings suggest that children who are exposed to more paternal mind-mindedness may reach more mature sleep patterns earlier in development.

The contributory role of the family context in early childhood sleep health: A systematic review

Sleep-wake regulation is established during early childhood and contributes to life-long health. The family context is critical to the development of child sleep-wake regulation. The primary aim of this systematic review was to elucidate family-level constructs (outside of bedtime parenting) that contribute to early childhood (age 0-5 years) sleep health. We identified empirical research articles that investigate these relationships through systematically searching PubMed, Web of Science, and PsycINFO databases. The transactional model of sleep-wake regulation guided the selection of family-level search terms, including socioeconomic status (SES), family structure, household chaos, marital, co-parenting, and social relationships. Sleep search terms included sleep problems, duration, timing, and variability. We searched sleep and family terms in combination with infant, toddler, or preschool developmental age. Sixteen studies satisfied criteria for inclusion. Results indicated that the presence of household chaos and poor quality marital relationships were directly associated with early childhood sleep problems and variable sleep timing. Higher marital satisfaction and the presence of household routines were positively associated with sleep duration. Several, but not all, studies showed an association between lower SES and poor child sleep health. There were no significant direct associations for family structure and limited findings for the role of perceived social support and co-parenting relationship quality. Overall, operationalization and measurement of family and sleep constructs varied across studies, decreasing our ability to make comparisons and draw robust conclusions. Future research should identify modifiable family-level factors that can be targeted, in addition to bedtime parenting, to improve sleep-wake regulation development.

Mental Health of Parents and Preschool-Aged Children During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Mediating Role of Harsh Parenting and Child Sleep Disturbances

In the context of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, mental health problems of parents and children have become a public issue. Herein, we explored the association between parental well-being index and child mental health problems during the pandemic and the mediating role of harsh parenting and child sleep disturbances. An online survey was conducted among 16,398 parents of children aged 3-6 years (48.1% girls, M_age = 4.69 years, SD_age = 0.75 years) from March 15 to 29, 2020. Child mental health (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, SDQ), sleep problems (Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire, CSHQ), and parental well-being index (World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index, WHO-5), and harsh parenting were reported by parents. The results revealed that a higher parental well-being index was associated with lower child mental health problems. Harsh parenting and child sleep problems were significant mediators within the association. This study indicates the association between parental well-being index and child mental health during the pandemic and underlying mechanism, and has important implications for reducing parental and child mental health problems.

Evidence Base Update on Assessing Sleep in Youth

BACKGROUND

Sleep is vital to youth well-being and when it becomes disturbed - whether due to environmental or individual factors - mental and physical health suffer. Sleep problems can also be a symptom of underlying mental health disorders. Assessing different components of sleep, including quality and hygiene, can be useful both for identifying mental health problems and for measuring changes in well-being over time. However, there are dozens of sleep-related measures for youth and it can be difficult to determine which to select for a specific research or clinical purpose. The goal of this review was to identify sleep-related measures for clinical and/or research use in youth mental health settings, and to update the evidence base on this topic.

METHOD

We generated a list of candidate measures based on other reviews and searched in PubMed and PsycINFO using the terms "sleep" AND (measure OR assessment OR questionnaire) AND (psychometric OR reliability OR validity). Search results were limited to studies about children and adolescents (aged 2-17) published in English. Additional criteria for inclusion were that there had to be at least three publications reporting on the measure psychometrics in community or mental health populations. Sleep measures meeting these criteria were evaluated using the criteria set by De Los Reyes and Langer (2018).

RESULTS

Twenty-six measures, across four domains of sleep - insomnia, sleep hygiene, sleepiness, sleep quality - met inclusion criteria. Each measure had at least adequate clinical utility. No measure(s) emerged as superior across psychometric domains.

CONCLUSION

Clinicians and researchers must evaluate sleep measures for each use case, as the intended purpose will dictate which measure is best. Future research is necessary to evaluate measure performance in transdiagnostic mental health populations, including youth with serious mental illness.

The Early Growth and Development Study: A Dual-Family Adoption Study from Birth Through Adolescence

The Early Growth and Development Study (EGDS) is a prospective adoption study of birth parents, adoptive parents and adopted children (n = 561 adoptees). The original sample has been expanded to include siblings of the EGDS adoptees who were reared by the birth mother and assessed beginning at age 7 years (n = 217 biological children), and additional siblings in both the birth and adoptive family homes, recruited when the adoptees were 8-15 years old (n = 823). The overall study aims are to examine how family, peer and contextual processes affect child and adolescent adjustment, and to examine their interplay (mediation, moderation) with genetic influences. Adoptive and birth parents were originally recruited through adoption agencies located throughout the USA following the birth of a child. Assessments are ongoing and occurred in 9 month's intervals until the adoptees turned 3 years of age, and in 1 to 2 year intervals thereafter through age 15. Data collection includes the following primary constructs: child temperament, behavior problems, mental health, peer relations, executive functioning, school performance and health; birth and adoptive parent personality characteristics, mental health, health, context, substance use, parenting and marital relations; and the prenatal environment. Findings highlight the power of the adoption design to detect environmental influences on child development and provide evidence of complex interactions and correlations between genetic, prenatal environmental and postnatal environmental influences on a range of child outcomes. The study sample, procedures and an overview of findings are summarized and ongoing assessment activities are described.

Sleep Problem Trajectories and Cumulative Socio-Ecological Risks: Birth to School-Age

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate whether there are distinct childhood sleep problem trajectories from birth to 10-11 years and to assess associations with cumulative socio-ecological risks (child, family, context).

STUDY DESIGN

Participants were 5107 children from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children-Birth Cohort. At birth, cumulative risk indexes were generated for birth, parenting, family, socioeconomic, and neighborhood risks. Parent-reported child sleep problems were assessed biennially from ages 0-1 to 10-11 years. Sleep problem trajectories were derived using latent class analysis. Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine associations with risk indexes.

RESULTS

Five distinct trajectories emerged: persistent sleep problems through middle childhood (7.7%), limited infant/preschool sleep problems (9.0%), increased middle childhood sleep problems (17.0%), mild sleep problems over time (14.4%), and no sleep problems (51.9%). Cumulative mother- and father-reported family risks (distress; marital/relational hostility) were linked to nearly all of the trajectories, whereas father- and mother-reported parenting risks were associated with fewer trajectories. Birth risks were associated with increased middle childhood sleep problems. Neighborhood risks were not associated with any trajectories. Socioeconomic risks were linked to mild and persistent sleep problem trajectories. Cumulative risk indexes were most associated with increased middle childhood sleep problems.

CONCLUSIONS

This study identified distinct longitudinal sleep problem trajectories, suggesting the need for continuous sleep screening over development. Cumulative risks assessed at birth-primarily maternal and paternal family risks-predicted these trajectories, especially for the sleep problems in middle childhood trajectory. Preventive interventions targeting modifiable factors, particularly caregiver distress and marital/relational hostility, could benefit child sleep.

Utilising Genetically-Informed Research Designs to Better Understand Family Processes and Child Development: Implications for Adoption and Foster Care Focused Interventions

Understanding the interplay between genetic factors and family environmental processes (e.g., inter-parental relationship quality, positive versus negative parenting practices) and children's mental health (e.g., anxiety, depression, conduct problems, ADHD) in the contexts of adoption and foster-care research and practice is critical for effective prevention and intervention programme development. Whilst evidence highlights the importance of family environmental processes for the mental health and well-being of children in adoption and foster care, there is relatively limited evidence of effective interventions specifically for these families. Additionally, family-based interventions not specific to the context of adoption and foster-care typically show small to medium effects, and even where interventions are efficacious, not all children benefit. One explanation for why interventions may not work well for some is that responses to intervention may be influenced by an individual's genetic make-up. This paper summarises how genetically-informed research designs can help disentangle genetic from environmental processes underlying psychopathology outcomes for children, and how this evidence can provide improved insights into the development of more effective preventative intervention targets for adoption and foster-care families. We discuss current difficulties in translating behavioural genetics research to prevention science, and provide recommendations to bridge the gap between behavioural genetics research and prevention science, with lessons for adoption and foster-care research and practice.

The effects of family dysfunction trajectories during childhood and early adolescence on sleep quality during late adolescence: Resilience as a mediator

RATIONALE

Sleep quality has been linked to several behavioral and psychological problems. No longitudinal study has examined the associations and underlying mechanisms between the trajectories of family characteristics and sleep quality in adolescents.

OBJECTIVE

This study investigates the effects of heterogeneous trajectories of family dysfunction on sleep quality in adolescents and examines whether resilience mediates these associations.

METHOD

Data came from 2280 adolescents participating in a longitudinal study across grades 2 through 11 in northern Taiwan. Group-based trajectory modeling was used to identify discrete developmental patterns of family dysfunction. Multiple linear regression was applied to examine the associations between family dysfunction trajectories and sleep quality. Mediation analysis was conducted to test whether resilience mediates the associations examined.

RESULTS

Four distinct trajectories of family dysfunction were identified: low persistent (26%), escalating dysfunction (21%), moderate stable (25%), and high persistent (28%). Compared to adolescents in the low-persistent trajectory, those in the escalating-dysfunction, moderate-stable, and high-persistent trajectories had significant lower levels of sleep quality (B = -0.19, p < .001, B = -0.14, p < .01, and B = -0.13, p < .05, respectively). Resilience significantly mediated the effects of all family dysfunction trajectories (relative to the low-persistent trajectory) on sleep quality (95% bootstrap confidence intervals are -0.06 to -0.02, -0.05 to -0.02, and -0.08 to -0.03 for escalating-dysfunction, moderate-stable, and high-persistent trajectories, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

Family dysfunction conferred risks for poor sleep quality in adolescents and the negative effects, in part, were through decreasing resilience. Interventions to improve sleep quality in adolescents by targeting family function may be more effective when incorporating resilience.

Environmental Determinants of Insufficient Sleep and Sleep Disorders: Implications for Population Health

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Sleep is important for overall health and well-being. Insufficient sleep and sleep disorders are highly prevalent among adults and children and therefore a public health burden, particularly because poor sleep is associated with adverse health outcomes. Emerging evidence has demonstrated that environmental factors at the household- and neighborhood-level can alter healthy sleep. This paper will (1) review recent literature on the environmental determinants of sleep among adults as well as children and adolescents; and (2) discuss the opportunities and challenges for advancing research on the environment and sleep.

RECENT FINDINGS

Epidemiologic research has shown that social features of environments, family, social cohesion, safety, noise, and neighborhood disorder can shape and/or impact sleep patterns; and physical features such as light, noise, traffic, pollution, and walkability can also influence sleep and is related to sleep disorders among adults and children. Prior research has mainly measured one aspect of the environment, relied on self-reported sleep, which does not correlate well with objective measures, and investigated cross-sectional associations. Although most studies are conducted among non-Hispanic white populations, there is growing evidence that indicates that minority populations are particularly vulnerable to the effects of the environment on insufficient sleep and sleep disorders.

SUMMARY

There is clear evidence that environmental factors are associated with insufficient sleep and sleep disorders. However, more research is warranted to evaluate how and which environmental factors contribute to sleep health. Interventions that target changes in the environment to promote healthy sleep should be developed, tested, and evaluated as a possible pathway for ameliorating sleep health disparities and subsequently health disparities.

Annual Research Review: Interparental conflict and youth psychopathology: an evidence review and practice focused update

The quality of the interparental relationship is recognized as an important influence on child and adolescent psychopathology. Historically, clinically oriented research on this topic has focused on the impacts of parental divorce and domestic violence as primary interparental relationship influences on child outcomes, to the relative neglect of dimensional or qualitative features of the couple/interparental relationship for youth (child and adolescent) psychopathology. Recent research has highlighted that children are affected by attributes of interparental conflict, specifically how parents express and manage conflicts in their relationship, across a continuum of expressed severity and negativity - ranging from silence to violence. Furthermore, new evidence highlights that children's emotional, behavioral, social, academic outcomes, and future interpersonal relationships are adversely affected by conflict between parents/carers whether adults are living together or not (i.e. married or separated), or where children are or are not genetically related to their rearing parents (e.g. adoption). We review evidence and present an integrated theoretical model, highlighting how children are affected by interparental conflict and what this evidence base means for effective intervention and prevention program development, as well as the development of possible cost-benefit models. Additionally, we review policy implications of this research and highlight some very recent examples of UK-based policy focusing on addressing the interparental relationship and its impact on youth psychopathology.

[The interparental relationship in families with children with ADHD: Interactions between couple distress and child's symptoms]

The interparental relationship in families with children with ADHD: Interactions between couple distress and child's symptoms Abstract. The impact of the family in the development and maintenance of childhood ADHD is well established. However, previous research in this field focused largely on parenting and the quality of the parent-child relationship, whereas the role of the interparental relationship has been neglected. This review summarizes the current state of research on the interactions between a couple distress and their child's ADHD and discusses interparental conflict as a risk factor for the development of ADHS-related symptoms. Based on the present knowledge, an integrative model is postulated that assumes an interaction of genetic vulnerability for childhood ADHD and a couple distress. It depicts how distress in the interparental relationship may both directly and indirectly affect the etiology, maintenance, and/or amplification of childhood ADHD-related symptoms, which in turn affect the interparental relationship. The review highlights the significance of relationship distress prevention programs for couples to prevent adjustment problems in children, and the adequate consideration of couple conflict in diagnostics and therapy among families with children with ADHD.

Family Functioning and Children's Sleep

Sleep is a pivotal correlate and predictor of many domains of child development, including socioemotional adjustment, physical health, and cognitive functioning. The family plays a major role in shaping children's sleep-wake behaviors, and developmental research on children's sleep in a family context is on the rise. As in any relatively young field, many gaps and questions remain. In this article, we aim to advance this literature by illustrating ways to examine the interconnections between family functioning and children's sleep. We also call for increasing conceptual developments and testing of transactional models, using well-established and psychometrically sound objective and subjective measures, and expanding both the family functioning domains and sleep parameters assessed.

How Can Genetically Informed Research Help Inform the Next Generation of Interparental and Parenting Interventions?

There is robust evidence that the interparental relationship and parenting behaviors each have a significant influence on children's risk for emotional (internalizing) and behavioral (externalizing) problems. Indeed, interventions targeting the interparental relationship and parenting processes show significant intervention-related reductions in child internalizing and externalizing problems. However, most evidence-based parenting- and couple-focused interventions result in small to medium effects on children's emotional and behavior problems. It is proposed that there is opportunity to improve upon these interventions through incorporation of knowledge from quantitative genetic research. Three core recommendations are provided for practitioners engaging in intervention work with children and families. These recommendations are contextualized relative to what quantitative genetic studies can tell us about the role of the interparental relationship and parenting behaviors on child outcomes.

Perceived inadequate care and excessive overprotection during childhood are associated with greater risk of sleep disturbance in adulthood: the Hisayama Study

BACKGROUND

Sleep disturbance and poor sleep quality are major health problems worldwide. One potential risk factor for the development and maintenance of sleep disturbance is the parenting style experienced during childhood. However, its role in sleep disturbance in adulthood has not yet been estimated. This Japanese population study was done to clarify the relation between the parenting styles "care" and "overprotection" during childhood and sleep disturbance in adulthood.

METHODS

A total of 702 community-dwelling Japanese residents aged ≥ 40 years were assessed in 2011 for their perceptions of the parenting style of their parents by use of the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) and for sleep disturbance by use of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). The odds ratio (OR) for sleep disturbance (a global PSQI score > 5) was calculated using a logistic regression model.

RESULTS

The prevalence of sleep disturbance was 29 %. After adjusting for sociodemographic, lifestyle, and physical factors in a comparison with the optimal parenting styles (high care and low overprotection), the ORs for sleep disturbance by men were significantly higher for low paternal care, by 2.49 times (95 % confidence interval [CI]: 1.21-5.09), and for high overprotection, by 2.40 times (95 % CI: 1.19-4.85), while the ORs were not significant for low maternal care and high overprotection. For women the only significant factor was high maternal overprotection, by 1.62 times (95 % CI: 1.05-2.52), while the ORs were not significant for low maternal care, low paternal care and high paternal overprotection. The association remained significant for high paternal overprotection for men after additionally controlling for depression.

CONCLUSIONS

This study suggests that parenting style, especially inadequate care and excessive overprotection during childhood, is related to sleep disturbance in adulthood and that the association is much more significant for parents of the same sex as the child.

Longitudinal relations between parent-child conflict and children's adjustment: the role of children's sleep

Sleep was examined as a process variable in relations between verbal and physical parent-child conflict and change in children's internalizing and externalizing symptoms over time. Participants were 282 children at T1 (M age = 9.44 years; 48% girls), 280 children at T2 (M age = 10.41 years), and 275 children at T3 (M age = 11.35 years). Children reported on parent-child conflict, sleep was assessed with actigraphy, and parents reported on children's internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Autoregressive effects for sleep and internalizing and externalizing symptoms were controlled to examine change over time. Supportive of intervening processes, physical parent-child conflict at T1 and increased change in internalizing and externalizing symptoms at T3 were indirectly related through their shared association with reduced sleep continuity (efficiency, long wake episodes) at T2. Findings build on a small but growing literature and highlight the importance of considering the role of sleep in relations between family conflict and child development.

Recent Updates in the Social and Environmental Determinants of Sleep Health

In this brief review article, we provide an overview of recent (since 2010) scientific contributions to our understanding of the social and environmental determinants of sleep health. In particular, we focus on three areas where we saw the most contributions to the determinants of sleep health among children, adolescents, and adults. First, studies of neighborhood context and sleep health find that sleep quality and quantity are lower in disadvantaged neighborhoods. These negative associations are often stronger for women than for men. Second, family factors matter for sleep health. Children from families with more parental resources sleep better than do children from families without such resources. Adults with children sleep less than those without, and work-family conflict is an impediment to good sleep. Third, media use is problematic for sleep health. Around the world, higher levels of screen media use are associated with lower quality and quantity of sleep. Future research on the social and environmental determinants of sleep health will grow out of these three areas of current research. In addition, we anticipate new research in the international realm and in the area of interventions designed to improve the population's sleep health.

Insomnia symptoms, behavioral/emotional problems, and suicidality among adolescents of insomniac and non-insomniac parents

The aim of this study was to examine insomnia symptoms, behavioral problems, and suicidality among adolescents of insomniac parents (IP) and non-insomniac parents (NIP). A family survey of sleep and health was conducted among 1090 adolescents and their parents in Jinan, China. Adolescents completed a sleep and health questionnaire to report their sleep and mental health problems. Parents reported their insomnia symptoms and history of mental disorders. Insomnia, behavioral problems, and suicidal behavior were compared between IP adolescents and NIP adolescents. IP adolescents were more likely than NIP adolescents to report insomnia symptoms, use of sleep medication, suicidal ideation, suicide plan, and suicide attempt. IP adolescents scored significantly higher than NIP adolescents on withdrawn and externalizing behavioral problems. After adjustment for demographics and behavioral problems, parental insomnia remained to be significantly associated with adolescent suicidal ideation and suicide plan. Our findings support the need for early screening and formal assessment of sleep and mental health in adolescents of insomniac parents.

Longitudinal relations between constructive and destructive conflict and couples' sleep

We examined longitudinal relations between interpartner constructive (negotiation) and destructive (psychological and physical aggression) conflict strategies and couples' sleep over 1 year. Toward explicating processes of effects, we assessed the intervening role of internalizing symptoms in associations between conflict tactics and couples' sleep. Participants were 135 cohabiting couples (M age = 37 years for women and 39 years for men). The sample included a large representation of couples exposed to economic adversity. Further, 68% were European American and the remainder were primarily African American. At Time 1 (T1), couples reported on their conflict and their mental health (depression, anxiety). At T1 and Time 2, sleep was examined objectively with actigraphs for 7 nights. Three sleep parameters were derived: efficiency, minutes, and latency. Actor-partner interdependence models indicated that husbands' use of constructive conflict forecasted increases in their own sleep efficiency as well as their own and their wives' sleep duration over time. Actor and partner effects emerged, and husbands' and wives' use of destructive conflict strategies generally predicted worsening of some sleep parameters over time. Several mediation and intervening effects were observed for destructive conflict strategies. Some of these relations reveal that destructive conflict is associated with internalizing symptoms, which in turn are associated with some sleep parameters longitudinally. These findings build on a small, albeit growing, literature linking sleep with marital functioning, and illustrate that consideration of relationship processes including constructive conflict holds promise for gaining a better understanding of factors that influence the sleep of men and women.

Addressing sleep disturbances: an opportunity to prevent cardiometabolic disease?

There is increasing awareness of the role of sleep disturbance as an important factor in health and disease. Although sub-clinical sleep disturbances (insufficient sleep duration or inadequate sleep quality) may be difficult to assess with conceptual and/or methodological clarity, this review attempts to summarize and synthesize these findings. First, the concept of sleep disturbance in a public health context is introduced, to provide context and rationale. Second, operational definitions of 'cardiometabolic disease' and 'sleep disturbance' are offered, to address many unclear operationalizations. Third, the extant literature is summarized regarding short or long sleep duration and/or insufficient sleep, insomnia and insomnia symptoms, general (non-specific sleep disturbances), circadian rhythm abnormalities that result in sleep disturbances, and, briefly, sleep-disordered breathing. Fourth, the review highlights the social/behavioural context of sleep, including discussions of sleep and race/ethnicity, socio-economic position, and other social/environmental factors, in order to place these findings in a social-environmental context relevant to public health. Fifth, the review highlights the issue of sleep as a domain of health behaviour and addresses issues regarding development of healthy sleep interventions. Finally, a research agenda of future directions is proposed.

The Early Growth and Development Study: a prospective adoption study from birth through middle childhood

The Early Growth and Development Study is a prospective adoption study of birth parents, adoptive parents, and adopted children recruited in two cohorts (N = 561 triads). The primary study aims are to examine how family, peer, and contextual processes affect children's adjustment, and to examine their interplay (mediation, moderation) with genetic influences. Participants were recruited through adoption agencies located throughout the United States following the birth of a child. Assessments are ongoing, in 9-month intervals until the child reaches 3 years of age and in 1-year intervals thereafter through age 9. Data collection includes the following primary constructs: child temperament, social behavior, school performance, mental health, and health; birth and adoptive parent personality characteristics, mental health, competence, stress, health, context, substance use, parenting, and marital relations; and pregnancy use of drugs and maternal stress during pregnancy. DNA and salivary cortisol samples have also been collected. Analyses have indicated evidence for genotype-environment interactions during early childhood. Study procedures, sample representativeness (including tests of potential confounds in the adoption design), and an overview of findings to date are summarized, and future plans are described.