US fathers' reports of bonding, infant temperament and psychosocial stress based on family sleep arrangements.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Evolutionary-grounded sleep research has been critical to establishing the mutual dependence of breastfeeding and nighttime sleep proximity for mothers and infants. Evolutionary perspectives on cosleeping also often emphasize the emotional motivations for and potential benefits of sleep proximity, including for parent-infant bonding. However, this potential link between infant sleep location and bonding remains understudied for both mothers and fathers. Moreover, in Euro-American contexts bedsharing has been linked to family stress and difficult child temperament, primarily via maternal reports. We know relatively little about whether paternal psychosocial dynamics differ based on family sleep arrangements, despite fathers and other kin often being present in the cosleeping environment across cultures. Here, we aim to help address some of these gaps in knowledge pertaining to fathers and family sleep arrangements. METHODOLOGY: Drawing on a sample of Midwestern U.S. fathers (N=195), we collected sociodemographic and survey data to analyze links between infant nighttime sleep location, paternal psychosocial well-being, father-infant bonding, and infant temperament. From fathers' reports, families were characterized as routinely solitary sleeping, bedsharing, or roomsharing (without bedsharing). RESULTS: We found that routinely roomsharing or bedsharing fathers, respectively, reported stronger bonding than solitary sleepers. Bedsharing fathers also reported that their infants had more negative temperaments and also tended to report greater parenting-related stress due to difficulties with their children. CONCLUSIONS: These cross-sectional results help to highlight how a practice with deep phylogenetic and evolutionary history, such as cosleeping, can be variably expressed within communities with the potential for family-dependent benefits or strains.

Long-Term Impact of a Cell Phone-Enhanced Parenting Intervention.

Home visiting programs support positive parenting in populations at-risk of child maltreatment, but their impact is often limited by poor retention and engagement. The current study assessed whether a cellular phone-supported version (PCI-C) of the Parent-Child Interactions (PCI) intervention improved long-term parenting practices, maternal depression, and children's aggression. Low-income mothers ( n = 371) of preschool-aged children were assigned to one of the three groups: PCI-C, PCI, and a wait-list control (WLC) group. Parenting improved in both intervention groups between baseline and 12-month follow-up compared to the WLC. Children in the PCI-C group were rated to be more cooperative and less aggressive than children in the WLC. The results offer evidence of the long-term effectiveness of PCI and the additional benefits of cellular phone supports for promoting intervention retention and improving children's behavior.

Fathers' influence in the lives of children with adolescent mothers.

Little is known about the extent, nature, and impact of fathers of children with adolescent mothers. The current study measured father involvement with 134 children of adolescent mothers over the first 10 years of life. Overall, 59% had consistent father contact across the first 8 years. This contact was associated with better socioemotional and academic functioning at 8 and 10 years of age, particularly in school related areas. Children with greater levels of father contact had fewer behavioral problems and had higher scores on reading achievement; these results held after controlling for maternal risk. The findings showed the important role that fathers play in the lives of at-risk children, even if the father does not reside with the child.