The proposed study addresses an under-researched, but likely important implication of sleep variations in a particular social and developmental context: It asks how mothers'sleep deficits arise and what they mean for parenting of toddlers. Toddlers create challenges for parents and many parents of toddlers experience sleep deficits, which could amplify the parenting challenges. The study will test a model in which (1) family stressors along with both family and mothers'individual resources influence (2) family chaos, in terms of fewer predictable routines and more noise, which in turn influences (3) mothers'sleep, in terms of extent, fragmentation, and variability, which influences (4) mothers'state levels of cognitive self-regulation, measured in structured tasks, which in turn influences (5) mothers'parenting of their toddlers. The study will also test a set of hypothesized mother temperament moderators of the paths from chaos to sleep (by trait negative affectivity), from sleep to self-regulation to parenting (by trait effortful control and by trait positive affectivity). The study will follow a sample of 250 mothers from toddler age 30 months to toddler age 36 months, and both continuity and predictors of change will be modeled. The sample will be recruited in two geographical areas and represent a range of socioeconomic levels and both European-American and African-American families. The study will advance knowledge about family environment and mother factors influencing mothers'sleep deficits, about how sleep deficits link to self-regulation and parenting, and about how mother temperament dimensions moderate the paths from environment to mother sleep and from mother sleep to self-regulation and parenting. Ultimately, the study will offer new targets for early childhood clinical and prevention research.

Public Health Relevance

This longitudinal study will show how sleep deficits of mothers of toddlers arise from distal stressors and resources and immediate household chaos, and how they come to be associated with parenting deficits via the key mechanism of cognitive self-regulation. Findings will improve prevention and intervention for sleep and parenting problems, and ultimately for early childhood prevention of behavior problems.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01MH099437-03
Application #
8728319
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-BBBP-L (50))
Program Officer
Muehrer, Peter R
Project Start
2012-08-01
Project End
2015-07-31
Budget Start
2014-08-01
Budget End
2015-07-31
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2014
Total Cost
$386,147
Indirect Cost
$71,468
Name
Indiana University Bloomington
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
006046700
City
Bloomington
State
IN
Country
United States
Zip Code
47401
Deater-Deckard, Kirby; Bell, Martha Ann (2017) Maternal executive function, heart rate, and EEG alpha reactivity interact in the prediction of harsh parenting. J Fam Psychol 31:41-50
Li, Mengjiao; Deater-Deckard, Kirby; Calkins, Susan D et al. (2017) Getting to the Heart of Personality in Early Childhood: Cardiac Electrophysiology and Stability of Temperament. J Res Pers 67:151-156
Kim-Spoon, Jungmeen; Deater-Deckard, Kirby; Lauharatanahirun, Nina et al. (2017) Neural Interaction Between Risk Sensitivity and Cognitive Control Predicting Health Risk Behaviors Among Late Adolescents. J Res Adolesc 27:674-682
Deater-Deckard, Kirby; Li, Mengjiao; Bell, Martha Ann (2016) Multifaceted emotion regulation, stress and affect in mothers of young children. Cogn Emot 30:444-57
Deater-Deckard, Kirby (2016) Is Self-Regulation ""All in the family""? Testing Environmental Effects using Within-Family Quasi-Experiments. Int J Behav Dev 40:224-233
Petersen, Isaac T; Hoyniak, Caroline P; McQuillan, Maureen E et al. (2016) Measuring the development of inhibitory control: The challenge of heterotypic continuity. Dev Rev 40:25-71
Bridgett, David J; Burt, Nicole M; Edwards, Erin S et al. (2015) Intergenerational transmission of self-regulation: A multidisciplinary review and integrative conceptual framework. Psychol Bull 141:602-654
Hoyniak, Caroline P; Petersen, Isaac T; McQuillan, Maureen E et al. (2015) Less Efficient Neural Processing Related to Irregular Sleep and Less Sustained Attention in Toddlers. Dev Neuropsychol 40:155-66
Crandall, AliceAnn; Deater-Deckard, Kirby; Riley, Anne W (2015) Maternal emotion and cognitive control capacities and parenting: A conceptual framework. Dev Rev 36:105-126
Staples, Angela D; Bates, John E; Petersen, Isaac T (2015) Bedtime routines in early childhood: prevalence, consistency, and associations with nighttime sleep. Monogr Soc Res Child Dev 80:141-59

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