Relations Between Toddler Sleep Characteristics, Sleep Problems, and Temperament

Authors

Victoria J. Molfese, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Kathleen Moritz Rudasill, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Amanda Prokasky, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Carly Champagne, University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Molly Holmes, University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Dennis L. Molfese, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Jack Bates, Indiana UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2015

Citation

Published in final edited form as: Dev Neuropsychol. 2015 ; 40(3): 138–154. doi:10.1080/87565641.2015.1028627

Comments

Copyright © 2015 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. Used by permission.

Abstract

Two sources of information (parent reported sleep diaries and actigraph records) were used to investigate how toddler sleep characteristics (bed time/sleep onset, wake time/sleep offset, total nighttime sleep and total sleep time) are related to sleep problems and temperament. There were 64 toddler participants in the study. Consistent with studies of older children, parent reports differed from actigraph based records. The findings that parent reported and actigraph recorded sleep characteristics varied as a function of parent report of toddler sleep problems and temperament add needed information on toddler sleep. Such information may contribute to improving parents’ awareness of their child’s sleep characteristics and correlates of problem sleep.