Factors associated with bed and room sharing in Chinese school-aged children.
OBJECTIVE
Co-sleeping (bed or room sharing) has potential implications for children's development. Previous studies showed that co-sleeping was more prevalent in non-Western countries than in Western countries, which demonstrated that co-sleeping was marked with ethnic and socio-cultural background characteristics. The purpose of this study was to survey the prevalence of bed and room sharing and to examine related factors among school-aged children in an Asian country - China.


METHODS
A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted in 10 districts of Shanghai, China from November to December 2005. A total of 4108 elementary school children, 49.2% boys and 50.8% girls with a mean age of 8.79 years, participated. Parent-administered questionnaires were used to collect information about children's sleeping arrangements and socio-demographic characteristics.


RESULTS
The prevalence of routine bed sharing, room sharing and sleeping alone in Chinese school-aged children was 21.0%, 19.1% and 47.7%, respectively. Bed and room sharing didn't show significant gender difference but gradually decreased with increasing age. Multivariate logistic regression identified those factors associated with bed and room sharing: younger age, large family, children without their own bedroom and parents' approval of a co-sleeping arrangement.


CONCLUSIONS
Co-sleeping arrangement was a common practice in Chinese school-aged children. Associated factors were characterized by intrinsic socio-cultural values and socio-economic status in China.
Li
S
S
Department of Child Health, Shanghai Xin Hua Hospital affiliated with Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Jin
X
X
Yan
C
C
Wu
S
S
Jiang
F
F
Shen
X
X
D000367:Age Factors; D044466:Asian People / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D001513:Beds; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations / Q000208:ethnology*; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012890:Sleep; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires