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Maternal separation anxiety as a regulator of infants’ sleep
Author(s) -
Scher Anat
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of child psychology and psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.652
H-Index - 211
eISSN - 1469-7610
pISSN - 0021-9630
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2007.01872.x
Subject(s) - anxiety , psychology , sleep (system call) , separation (statistics) , distress , developmental psychology , clinical psychology , separation anxiety disorder , association (psychology) , anxiety disorder , psychiatry , psychotherapist , machine learning , computer science , operating system
Background: The regulation of infants’ sleep is determined not only by biological factors but by relational aspects too. This study focused on maternal separation anxiety and examined its association with sleep–wake regulation at 10 months of age. Method: In a community sample comprising 52 infants and their mothers, sleep was measured objectively with an activity monitor, as well as through questionnaires. The mothers reported on their own separation anxiety and on the child's perceived distress. Results: The main finding was that maternal seperation anxiety was linked to settling to sleep routines and to night‐waking. The contribution of the mothers’ own sepration anxiety to their infants’ night‐waking remained significant after controlling for the child's fussiness. Conclusions: Consistent with the transactional perspective, the current research documented an interplay between maternal separation anxiety and aspects of the child's sleep–wake transitions.