title: Cross-cultural differences in the sleep of preschool children.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The aim of our study was to characterize cross-cultural sleep patterns and sleep problems in a large sample of preschool children ages 3-6years in multiple predominantly Asian (P-A) and predominantly Caucasian (P-C) countries/regions.
  
  
  METHODS
  Parents of 2590 preschool-aged children (P-A countries/regions: China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand; P-C countries: Australia-New Zealand, Canada, United Kingdom, United States) completed an Internet-based expanded version of the Brief Child Sleep Questionnaire (BCSQ).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, children from P-A countries had significantly later bedtimes, shorter nighttime sleep, and increased parental perception of sleep problems compared with those from P-C countries. Bedtimes varied from as early as 7:43pm in Australia and New Zealand to as late as 10:26pm in India, a span of almost 3h. There also were significant differences in daytime sleep with the majority of children in P-A countries continuing to nap, resulting in no differences in 24-h total sleep times (TST) across culture and minimal differences across specific countries. Bed sharing and room sharing are common in P-A countries, with no change across the preschool years. There also were a significant percentage of parents who perceived that their child had a sleep problem (15% in Korea to 44% in China).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Overall, our results indicate significant cross-cultural differences in sleep patterns, sleeping arrangements, and parent-reported sleep problems in preschool-aged children. Further studies are needed to understand the underlying bases for these differences and especially for contributors to parents' perceptions of sleep problems.
authors.affiliation: The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Saint Joseph's University, United States. Electronic address: jmindell@sju.edu.
authors.forename: Jodi A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Mindell
authors.forename: Avi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sadeh
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.forename: Daniel Y T
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Goh
mesh_terms: D044466:Asian People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001513:Beds; D002648:Child; D002668:Child Rearing / Q000208:ethnology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003625:Data Collection; D005191:Family Characteristics / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012890:Sleep; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000208:ethnology*; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
keywords: Child; Cross-cultural; Preschool; Sleep; Sleep patterns; Sleep problems