Cosleeping and sleep behavior in Italian school-aged children.
The prevalence and predictors of cosleeping were investigated in 901 healthy school-aged children. Parent reports on the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire and Child Behavior Checklist were used to assess children's sleep and behavioral problems. Regular, long-lasting cosleeping was present in 5% of our sample. Cosleepers rated higher on the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire total score and Bedtime Resistance, Sleep Anxiety, Nightwakings, and Parasomnias subscales than solitary sleepers. No significant behavioral problems were found in cosleepers. Regression results showed that low socioeconomic status, one parent who is a shiftworker, one-parent families, one parent who coslept as a child, prolonged breastfeeding, and previous and current sleep problems significantly predicted cosleeping. The high incidence of parents reporting having coslept as a child also suggested a lifestyle choice. Thus, cosleeping seems to reflect a parent's way to cope with sleep problems, and the long persistence of this practice may be related to the lifestyle of families.
Cortesi
Flavia
F
Center of Pediatric Sleep Disorders, Department of Developmental Neurology and Psychiatry, University of Rome La Sapienza, Italy. flavia.cortesi@uniroma1.it
Giannotti
Flavia
F
Sebastiani
Teresa
T
Vagnoni
Cristina
C
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D001290:Attitude; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012384:Rome / Q000453:epidemiology; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D012931:Social Environment; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data