Approximately 40% of U.S. children live in families characterized by high levels of parental conflict, and the negative psychological and behavioral outcomes associated with exposure to parental marital conflict are well-documented. The current project will extend an ongoing, longitudinal project that has been examining interrelations among parental conflict, sleep, and child adjustment. Previous waves of data collection in this project demonstrated that disruptions in an important facet of children's biological regulation, namely sleep, can have deleterious effects on typically developing children, and highlighted the importance of simultaneously examining family and sleep functioning in the prediction of child outcomes. The opportunity to follow the same families during a time when children are entering puberty is vital to determine the role of marital conflict in child development. Children and their families will be asked to participate in a third wave of data collection in which marital functioning and associated processes (e.g., emotional insecurity) are examined, children's sleep quality and quantity are assessed, and multiple domains of children's adjustment (socio-emotional, cognitive, academic) are investigated. This wave of data collection will allow the investigators to (1) analyze the mediating (intervening) role of sleep in the link between marital conflict and child development over time; (2) determine whether relations among marital conflict, children's sleep, and daytime functioning persist, weaken, or become stronger as children enter puberty, and ascertain if these associations differ based on child sex, ethnicity or socio-economic status; and (3) clarify processes that can influence child adaptation in the context of marital conflict and sleep disruptions.
Knowledge of contextual factors (e.g., high marital conflict) and psychobiological processes (e.g., sleep) associated with normative familial risk in children are critical for education and prevention efforts, multidisciplinary intervention, and institutional structures and policies relating to children and families. Understanding the role of sleep will inform interventions that promote resiliency, coping, and competence in many areas of functioning. By integrating theories and methods from different disciplines, the study will facilitate collaborations among the medical and social sciences in the ultimate service of public policy and practice. Further, Alabama's high rate of poverty, as well as large minority (African-American) population, makes the setting advantageous for studying the impact of multiple factors on the well-being of a diverse population of children. There are also a number of educational benefits of this study. Graduate and undergraduate students will be trained in interdisciplinary methods and working with a diverse population. Parents, school administrators, teachers, clinicians, and county agents will have the opportunity to participate in training workshops and seminars that are based on study findings. Finally, results will be presented via professional meetings, multidisciplinary journals, and a user-friendly website.
When children do not sleep well, the consequences are known to every parent. Sleepy children are usually less able to control their emotions and do their best at school. But exactly how sleep is related to behavior is not well understood. In this project, investigators wanted to clarify relations between family stressors, sleep problems, emotional and behavior problems, and academic achievement. Another purpose was to learn what factors cause some children to be more vulnerable to insufficient asleep and others to be relatively less affected. 113 children and their families took part in the study when children were around 13 years old. Children’s sleep was measured in their homes for one week before taking tests of cognitive functioning and emotional control. Parents also reported on children’s behaviors and emotions and on aspects of family life. Higher levels of family conflict were related to poor sleep, which in turn was related to more problems in behavior, emotional control, and school performance. For children from minority and poor families, the effects of insufficient sleep were more severe. This finding shows that when children have many different stressors, poor sleep has a bigger effect on them. However, good sleep helped children do better in school and have better mental and physical health; this was especially true for children exposed to poverty.
