Maternal depression and its association with sleep problems and emotional and behavioral problems in preschool children

Naoko Sato; Naoko Inada; Yuri Miyazaki; Hitomi Oi; Mari Inoue; Sou Kikuchi; Shun Nakajima

doi:10.1007/s41105-024-00557-6

Maternal depression and its association with sleep problems and emotional and behavioral problems in preschool children

Sleep Biol Rhythms. 2024 Nov 18;23(2):137-144. doi: 10.1007/s41105-024-00557-6. eCollection 2025 Apr.

Authors

Naoko Sato^{1

2}, Naoko Inada^{3

4}, Yuri Miyazaki^{5

6}, Hitomi Oi^{5

7}, Mari Inoue⁸, Sou Kikuchi⁹, Shun Nakajima^{5

10}

Affiliations

¹ Graduate School of Humanities and Sciences, Ochanomizu University, Tokyo, Japan.
² Yokohama Mental Training Center, Kanagawa, Japan.
³ Department of Psychology, Faculty of Clinical Psychology, Taisho University, Tokyo, Japan.
⁴ Faculty of Liberal Arts, Teikyo University, Tokyo, Japan.
⁵ National Center for Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Research, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo, Japan.
⁶ Chiba City Child-Development Center, Chiba, Japan.
⁷ Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Human Environments, Ehime, Japan.
⁸ Graduate School of Medical Science, Kitasato University, Kanagawa, Japan.
⁹ Faculty of Communication and Culture, Shoin University, Kanagawa, Japan.
¹⁰ International Institute for Integrative Sleep Medicine (WPI-IIIS), University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.

Abstract

In the first comprehensive examination of its kind, we investigated the association between maternal depression and preschoolers' sleep problems, as well as factors that influence children's sleep. A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was administered to mothers of children in nine kindergartens and nursery schools across six Japanese prefectures. The sample included 232 mother-child pairs (children's average age = 61.72 months; 51.29% boys; mothers' average age = 38.38 years). Mothers' depression and parenting behaviors were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and Parenting Behavior Checklist to Promote Preschoolers' Sleep, respectively. Children's sleep problems and emotional and behavioral problems were assessed using the Japanese Sleep Questionnaire for Preschoolers and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, respectively. Mothers reported on their children's duration of daytime activity and screen time. Thirty-two percent of mothers had more than minimal depressive symptoms. Path analysis revealed that children's emotional and behavioral problems, and sleep problems were associated with maternal depression (β = 0.24, β = 0.21). Furthermore, children's emotional and behavioral problems, duration of daytime activity, and parenting behaviors to promote children's sleep were associated with children's sleep problems (β = 0.45, β = - 0.09, β = - 0.45). The values of GFI (0.99), AGFI (0.95), and RMSEA (0.05) showed a good fitness of the model. The results suggest the necessity of assessing children' sleep problems and emotional and behavioral problems when considering mothers' mental health problems in the future.

Keywords: Maternal depression; Parenting; Preschoolers; Sleep problems; Strengths and difficulties questionnaire.

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