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, Mage = 4.69 years, SDage = 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.

How to relieve a baby’s teething pain?

Teething of temporary teeth in children is a natural and physiological process. However, in some cases, it can be accompanied by numerous unpleasant symptoms, such as fever, decreased appetite, anxiety in the child, sleep disturbance and indigestion. Knowledge of the physiology of teething, anatomical and physiological characteristics and factors affecting the process of teething of temporary teeth in children is important for the timely provision of assistance to such children. The article describes in detail the duration of teething, mechanisms, age and constitutional peculiarities during teething, the causes of pathological teething (dentitio difficiLis). The authors provided symptoms and differential diagnosis of delayed eruption of the teeth - the teething syndrome and presented methods and techniques for reducing pain intensity. The advantages and disadvantages of the main drugs that are used to treat the teething syndrome are also outlined: anti-infLammatory drugs (acetaminophen, ibuprofen), topical drugs (gels, ointments), homeopathic preparations. Particular attention is paid to the advantages of homeopathic combination preparations, which are highly effective, safe and provide a minimal pharmacological Load on the child’s body. CLinicaL cases of children aged 6.5 months and 8 months with teething symptoms and the use of a homeopathic combination preparation are presented. Positive changes were observed: heaLth improvement, anxiety reLief, fever reLief, appetite improvement. This case has demonstrated how non-drug measures, mother support and homeopathic preparations can effectiveLy heLp treat the baby’s teething syndrome without using non-steroidaL anti-infLammatory drugs and topicaL preparations.

Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual Disability: A Pilot Study Exploring Associations between Child Sleep Problems, Child Factors and Parent Factors

Sleep problems are common in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, few studies have undertaken group comparisons of sleep profiles and factors associated with poorer sleep between children with ASD without intellectual disability (ID; hereafter referred to as ASD) and ASD with co-occurring ID (hereafter referred to as ASD + ID). This study aimed to (1) compare child (sleep problems and emotional and behavioural problems (EBPs)) and parent factors (parenting stress and mental health) for children with ASD compared to children with ASD + ID, and (2) examine the associations between sleep problems and child and parent factors in both groups. Parents of 56 children with ASD (22 ASD, 34 ASD + ID) aged 6–13 years took part in the study. No statistically significant differences in sleep problems were found between children with ASD compared to children with ASD + ID. However, total EBPs were independently associated with child sleep problems in both groups. Further, ‘Self-Absorbed’ and ‘Communication Disturbance’ EBPs were significantly greater in the ASD + ID compared to the ASD group. Overall treatment outcomes for children with ASD may be further improved if consideration is given to the specific types of EBPs being experienced by the child and their association with sleep problems.

P157 Modelling the developmental trajectory of infant and child sleep

Introduction Sleep is important for infant and child neurodevelopment, yet there is a lack of mechanistic understanding of what drives the changes in sleep over the early years of life. While sleep in the adult brain has been studied and modelled extensively, very little has been done in infants and children, mainly limited to descriptive studies of sleep behaviour. Methods We adapted an existing, physiologically based model of adult sleep to study infant and child sleep behaviour. We compared modelled sleep behaviour to published data on sleep characteristics over a range of ages, both cross sectional from 0 to 5 years and densely-sampled individual data in the first year of life. We performed Bayesian inference to estimate the likely physiological parameters underpinning population-level diversity in sleep characteristics as a function of age from 0 to 5 years. We also fitted the model to individual sleep architecture in the first year of life. Results The empirically observed decrease in total sleep duration and consolidation of sleep bouts with increasing age are well explained by decreases in the constant inhibitory input to the ventrolateral preoptic nucleus and increases in the characteristic somnogen clearance time during sleep. Further, our model produced realistic sleep-wake dynamics consistent with early maturation of sleep in the heavily sampled, single infant data. Discussion Our results show that a greater understanding of the neurophysiology of sleep in infants and children can be achieved through the use of physiologically based models.

P024 Children’s sleep and fathers’ health and wellbeing: a systematic review

Introduction Night-waking is typical across infancy and early childhood. Although mothers are traditionally primary carers for children overnight, child sleep may impact others in the household, such as co-dwelling fathers. Despite expectations of more ‘hands on’ fathering, the relationship between children’s sleep and fathers’ health and wellbeing has not been previously synthesised. Methods This systematic review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement and registered with the Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO). Focusing on fathers, this review synthesised evidence pertaining to effects of children’s sleep (from birth to 12 years) on fathers’ health and wellbeing. Results From 4,421 records, 29 studies met inclusion criteria. Findings showed: (1) child sleep was associated with father’s sleep when child sleep was measured through father-report or objective measurement; (2) poorer child sleep was associated with poorer general health and wellbeing among fathers, however, associations of poor child sleep with depression were fewer; and (3) poor child sleep was negatively associated with quality of within-couple and parent-child relationships. Discussion Results suggested two principal issues: (1) Systematic variation in measures and findings underscores importance of objective measurement. Yoked actigraphy techniques are vital for understanding inter-relationships of family sleep and attendant outcomes. (2) Different patterns of child sleep and parent outcomes suggest direct and indirect pathways of effect. Understanding patterns of overnight caregiving, and factors underpinning parent decisions, are important for understanding mechanisms linking child sleep to fathers’ outcomes and for designing effective interventions to support parents.

Child Sleep Linked to Child and Family Functioning in Children with Down Syndrome

Sleep problems have a bi-directional impact on the daytime performance of children, parental well-being, and overall family functioning in the general population. Children with Down syndrome (DS) are at a high risk of sleep problems, yet the relationship between sleep problems, adaptive functioning, and family stress in children with DS is not well documented. We examined the relationship between sleep (i.e., duration and quality) and child and parent/family functioning. Sixty-six children with DS wore an actigraph for a week to assess their sleep duration and sleep efficiency. Their parents completed ratings on child sleep duration and parasomnias, child adaptive functioning, parental depression and sleep, and family stress. The parents’ reports of their children’s sleep duration were associated with parental depressive symptoms. The parents’ reports of their children’s restless sleep behaviors were associated with poorer performances in child-compliant/calm behaviors, worse parental sleep, and negative parental feelings and sibling relationships. The findings from actigraph measures of the children’s sleep demonstrated that greater sleep efficiency was associated with greater child adaptive functioning and fewer parental depressive symptoms. The study findings provide preliminary evidence that sleep problems are related to child adaptive functioning, parental functioning, and family stress in children with DS.