Infant sleep and negative reactivity: The role of maternal adversity and perinatal sleep

Adoption provides a unique opportunity to study the simultaneous effect on adoptees’ development of environmental influences related to adoptive parenting, and children’s biology-based characteristics. In this paper, two Hybrid Dyadic Models were tested to study the mediational role of the adoptees’ negative reactivity on the relationship between mothers and fathers’ supportive (Model A) and unsupportive (Model B) parenting, and adoptees’ social skills. In a sample of 102 couples, mothers and fathers’ reports on adoptees’ social skills, the adoptees’ negative reactivity, and supportive/unsupportive parenting were explored. Supportive/unsupportive parenting was assessed individually (mothers and fathers separately), whereas the adoptees’ negative reactivity and social skills were treated as common fate variables, with both parents’ scores as indicators of a latent construct. Results were non-significant for Model A. Regarding Model B, different relation patterns between unsupportive parenting and social skills were found, depending on whether it was the mother's or the father's parenting. The child's negative reactivity mediated the relationship between the father's (not the mother's) unsupportive parenting and the child's social skills. With information from both parents and considering simultaneously their unique and shared perspectives, this study advances adoption research and strengthens the relevance of dyadic analyses when studying the adoptive family dynamics.

Download Full-text

0989 Examining The Role Of Toddler Sleep Quality On Wake EEG And Language Ability

SLEEP ◽

10.1093/sleep/zsaa056.985 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 43 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. A375-A376

Author(s):

J Page ◽

R Walters ◽

R Gould ◽

L Wakschlag ◽

E Norton

Keyword(s):

Sleep Quality ◽

Language Ability ◽

Video Data ◽

Rapid Expansion ◽

Poor Sleep ◽

Infant Sleep ◽

Poor Sleep Quality ◽

Healthy Development ◽

Child Sleep

Abstract Introduction Sleep and the development of language are prominent concerns of many parents and until recently, many have examined these concerns tangentially. Children with developmental delays/disabilities have shown to have impaired sleep and poor sleep quality, and impairments or changes in sleep quality may play a prominent role in the acquisition of language and neuronal oscillatory patterns. This study examines the role of child sleep quality paired with a normed measure of language and wake electroencephalography (EEG). Examining the role of child sleep quality with language ability and wake EEG may provide nascent incremental utility to understanding the influences of sleep on healthy development. Methods Data from 109 toddlers (age range 24 to 30.5 m, M = 26.83 ± 1.58 m, 52% male) from the Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire (BISQ), Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL), and continuous EEG were collected and analyzed. EEG was recorded (32 electrode cap BioSemi) while toddlers sat in a booster seat and watched a silent video. Data were analyzed in RStudio and Matlab to examine toddler’s sleep quality (infant sleep and parent behaviors) and relations with the MSEL and EEG (controlling for child age and gender). Results Means and standard deviations appeared within expected limits based on the range of each variable. Toddlers with slow-developing language were associated with relatively poor sleep quality, explaining 9.75% of the variance. We find preliminary evidence to suggest a potential sleep disruption around the time when a child is undergoing a rapid expansion in their vocabulary (expressive language). Toddler’s sleep quality and language acquisition were also correlated with wake EEG (alpha and beta). Conclusion Sleep is regarded as an essential component supporting the myriad changes observed in early development. Sleep quality fundamentally influences healthy development across domains. Here, we showed child sleep quality is highly associated with toddler’s language ability, and wake EEG, providing new insights into the developing brain. Support National Institutes of Health R01DC016273, R01MH107652-03S1, and Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc., Skillman, NJ, USA.

Download Full-text

SLEEP DISRUPTIONS

PEDIATRICS ◽

10.1542/peds.70.3.471 ◽

1982 ◽

Vol 70 (3) ◽

pp. 471-471

Author(s):

Robert J. Haggerty

Keyword(s):

Random Sample ◽

Psychiatric Symptoms ◽

Infant Sleep ◽

Sleep Patterns

Questionnaires about infant sleep patterns were sent by mail to a random sample of 1,158 families with 1 to 2 year olds. Returned questionnaires (67%) indicated that 20% of the children woke five or more times a week. Characteristics of 55 children with severe waking problems and their families were compared with 30 nonwaking control children. The wakers more commonly had other behavior and temperamental difficulties, irritability in the early months, and an adverse perinatal history. Their families had more stress and their mothers were more likely to have psychiatric symptoms. The role of various factors in the genesis and maintenance of sleep disruptions is discussed.

Download Full-text