Early childhood attachment stability to mothers, fathers, and both parents as a network: associations with parents' well-being, marital relationship, and child behavior problems.

This study examines the stability of child attachment to mothers and fathers separately, and to both parents as a network between the infancy and preschool periods using a sample of 143 biparental families and their children (73 boys) recruited from the general population. Attachment was assessed at 15 months with the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) and at 45 months with the Preschool Attachment Classification Coding System (PACS). First, results show no stability in attachment to mothers, to fathers, or to both parents as a network. Second, parents' mental health, life satisfaction, marital satisfaction, and child externalizing behavior are associated with attachment stability. Taken altogether, group comparisons reveal that children with a stable secure attachment to both parents as a network have parents with higher levels of well-being and exhibit less problem behaviors than children with 1) a stable secure attachment to one parent and an unstable attachment to the other parent (from secure to insecure or from insecure to secure), or 2) who never had a stable secure attachment to either parent. This study highlights the significance of attachment to both parents as a network over time as it is associated with developmental outcomes.

Longitudinal associations between the quality of family interactions and school-age children's narrative abilities in the context of financial insecurity.

This longitudinal study investigates whether the quality of family interactions at 3-5 years of age predicts narrative abilities in 7-9-year-old children from socioeconomically disadvantaged families. The sample consists of 67 children and their parents receiving social welfare. Family interactions were filmed during mealtime at home and coded using the Mealtime Interaction Coding System. Children's narrative abilities were measured based on their capacity to coherently elaborate and resolve stories from the Attachment Story Completion Task. Results revealed that children exposed to family interactions of higher quality make their narratives more accessible and understandable and include more appropriate expression of affects in their stories 4 years later, even after accounting for maternal education and verbal abilities. The results of this study highlight the importance of considering family interactions in the context of financial insecurity when studying socioemotional competence in childhood.

Association between childhood maltreatment and attachment disorganization in young adulthood: The protective role of early mother-child interactions.

BACKGROUND: Individuals who experience chronic relational trauma within the parent-child relationship are at risk of developing disorganized representations of attachment relationships in the form of Hostile-Helpless (HH) states of mind. While this association is well recognized theoretically, few studies to date have empirically tested predictors of HH states of mind. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine whether retrospective self-reports of maltreatment and the quality of mother-child affective communication assessed in childhood predict HH states of mind in young adulthood. METHODS: The sample was composed of 66 young adults from a low-income community sample, who had been taking part in a longitudinal project since they were preschoolers. RESULTS: Results indicate that childhood maltreatment experiences significantly predict HH states of mind and that the quality of mother-child affective communication serves a protective role in the association between childhood maltreatment severity and adult attachment disorganization. CONCLUSION: This study is one of the first to prospectively examine how the quality of mother-child affective communication in childhood relates to attachment disorganization in young adulthood. Our results highlight the importance of providing support to families in which the child is at risk of experiencing relational trauma, with a particular focus on improving the quality of parent-child interactions.

Fear of COVID-19 and parental violence: The mediating role of parental burnout and child perceived as difficult.

BACKGROUND: Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a worldwide increase in the incidence of child abuse. Studies show that the pandemic context contributes to exacerbate several risk factors usually associated with the use of violent disciplinary practices. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to better understand the role of parental burnout and child perceived as difficult as a parental stressor in the link between fear of COVID-19 and the use of parental violence (minor and severe physical violence and repeated psychological aggression). PARTICIPANTS: The sample includes 467 mothers living in Québec (Canada) with a child aged 5 or less. METHOD: An online questionnaire, administered one year after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Québec (March to May 2021), was used to measure parental violence, parental burnout, parental stress related to the perception of the child as difficult and fear of COVID-19. Serial mediation analyses were performed. RESULTS: The main analyses confirmed the indirect association between fear of COVID-19 and the three forms of parental violence studied, through parental burnout and the child perceived as difficult. Unlike physical violence (minor and severe), the association between fear of COVID-19 and repeated psychological aggression is explained only by parental burnout. CONCLUSIONS: This study has identified new mechanisms that allow a better understanding of processes underlying parental violence during the pandemic. It also shows that parental violence can also occur in low-risk families. It is crucial to develop strategies to prevent the use of violent disciplinary practices in future socio-health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

A deeper look at the association between childhood maltreatment and reflective functioning.

Childhood maltreatment is theorized as impeding the development of reflective functioning (RF; ability to perceive and interpret oneself and others in terms of mental states). However, previous research typically failed to support this association or yielded small sized and mixed associations. This study aims to provide a deeper look at the association between childhood maltreatment and RF by characterizing two non-mentalizing categories. One-hundred-and-sixteen pregnant women (mean age = 27.62, SD = 4.52) from the community (48.3% with a university degree, 96.5% in a relationship with the other parent) retrospectively reported on childhood abuse and neglect using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. They also participated in the Adult Attachment Interview subsequently coded using the Reflective Functioning Scale. Participants with poor to low RF were allocated to one of two groups (disavowal-distancing or distorted-inconsistent) using indicators provided in the RF Scale. No association was found between childhood maltreatment and overall RF when controlling for education level. A multinomial logistic regression revealed that childhood maltreatment was strongly predictive of a disrupted, over-analytical and inconsistent reflection about mental states but not of a tendency to discourse little about mental states. This tendency was rather only predicted by education level. Findings suggest that childhood maltreatment would lead to specific impairments in RF and that not considering how individuals fail to mentalize about attachment relationships may mask strong associations between RF and its determinants and correlates, including childhood maltreatment.

Effects of the Attachment Video-feedback Intervention (AVI) on parents and children at risk of maltreatment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: The global health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in situations of risk of child abuse and neglect. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to examine whether the Attachment Video-feedback Intervention (AVI) program can improve protective factors (decrease parental stress and household chaos, increase parent-child emotional availability and parental reflective functioning) that may diminish child maltreatment in a group of families at risk for child abuse and neglect during the COVID-19 pandemic. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: The sample consisted of 41 children aged between 0 and 5 years (Mage = 35.36 months, SD = 14.65; 85.4 % boys) and their parents (Mage = 35.44, SD = 6.04; 75.6 % mothers). METHODS: The study design incorporated two randomized groups (Intervention group: AVI; Control group: treatment as usual) with pre- and post-test evaluations. RESULTS: In comparison to the control group, parents and children exposed to the AVI showed increases in emotional availability. Parents in the AVI group also presented increases in certainty regarding their child's mental states and reported lower levels of household chaos compared to those of the control group. CONCLUSIONS: The AVI program is a valuable intervention for increasing protective factors in families at risk of child abuse and neglect in times of crisis.

Sleep patterns and intraindividual sleep variability in mothers and fathers at 6 months postpartum: a population-based, cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES: Given that postpartum sleep is an important family process, further investigations including both mothers and fathers are necessary. The present study aimed to describe and compare sleep patterns and intraindividual night-to-night variability in mothers and fathers at 6 months postpartum using subjective and objective sleep measures. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: General community-based study in Montreal, QC, Canada. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-three couples (mothers and fathers) with no self-reported history of medical and mental health conditions participated in this study. RESULTS: Parental sleep was measured across 10 consecutive nights using both a daily sleep diary and actigraphy. Results demonstrated that mothers' subjective and objective sleep was more fragmented compared with fathers (shorter longest consecutive sleep duration and more nocturnal awakenings; p<0.001). While mothers and fathers did not differ in their self-reported nocturnal sleep duration (p>0.05), actigraphy indicated that mothers obtained significantly longer nocturnal sleep duration (448.07 min±36.49 min) than fathers (400.96 min±45.42 min; p<0.001). Intraindividual sleep variability was revealed by relatively high coefficients of variation for parents across both subjective and objective indices related to sleep fragmentation (between 0.25 and 1.32). Actigraphy also demonstrated variability by mothers sleeping 6 hours consecutively on less than 3 nights, 27.27% (±22.81), and fathers on less than 6 nights, 57.27% (±24.53), out of 10. Associations were also found between parental sleep and family factors, such as age and infant sleep location (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: These findings advance our knowledge of how sleep unfolds within the family system beyond the early postpartum weeks and/or months. Given the link between disturbed sleep and family functioning, the current research accentuates the importance of examining postpartum sleep patterns and variability in parents.

Hostile-helpless states of mind: A scoping review of risk factors, correlates, and consequences.

Chronic relational trauma can lead to the formation of pervasively unintegrated attachment representations in adulthood, referred to as Hostile-Helpless (HH) states of mind. Individuals with this type of attachment disorganization evidence conflicting evaluations of caregivers and have difficulty reflecting on their traumatic childhood experiences. This scoping review is the first to systematically integrate the results of all empirical studies on HH states of mind in an effort to highlight the scientific and clinical contributions of the concept and guide future research. Following Arksey and O'Malley's (2005) Methodological Framework, cross-reference keywords were searched in three databases (PsycArticles, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, ProQuest). In total, 19 studies met inclusion criteria and were included in the synthesis. Results suggest that prevalence rates of HH states of mind increase as a function of adults' psychosocial risk status. Findings also reveal that the long-term consequences of early trauma are greater in the presence of a HH state of mind, whereas the absence of a HH state of mind acts as a protective factor against the intergenerational transmission of maladaptation. Finally, results support the discriminant validity of the HH classification against other forms of attachment disorganization in adulthood. Research gaps and future research directions are discussed.

El trauma crónico de la relación puede llevar a la formación de representaciones de afectividad profundamente desintegradas en la edad adulta, conocidas como estados mentales Hostiles-Sin Ayuda. Los individuos con este tipo de afectividad desorganizada demuestran evaluaciones conflictivas de quienes les cuidan y tienen dificultades para reflexionar acerca de sus experiencias traumáticas de niñez. Este estudio de alcance comprensivo es el primero en integrar sistemáticamente los resultados de todos los estudios empíricos acerca de los estados mentales Hostiles-Sin Ayuda como un esfuerzo para subrayar las contribuciones científicas y clínicas del concepto y guiar la investigación futura. Siguiendo el Marco de Trabajo Metodológico de Arksey y O'Malley's (2005), se investigaron palabras claves con enlaces de referencia en tres bases de datos (PsycArticles, Colección de Psicología y Ciencias del Comportamiento, ProQuest). En total, 19 estudios reunieron los criterios de inclusión y se les incluyó en la síntesis. Los resultados indican que los puntajes prevalentes de los estados mentales Hostiles-Sin Ayuda aumentan como una función del riesgo sicosocial de los adultos. Los resultados también revelan que las consecuencias a largo plazo del trauma temprano son mayores en presencia de un estado mental Hostil-Sin Ayuda, mientras que la ausencia de un estado mental Hostil-Sin Ayuda actúa como un factor de protección contra la transmisión intergeneracional de mal adaptación. Finalmente, los resultados apoyan la validez discriminante de la clasificación Hostil-Sin Ayuda contra otras formas de desorganización de la afectividad en la edad adulta. Se discuten los vacíos y el futuro de la investigación.

Le trauma relationnel chronique peut mener à la formation de représentations de l'attachement non intégré omniprésent à l'âge adulte, auquel on fait référence en tant qu'états d'esprit Hostile-Impuissant. Les individus avec de type de désorganisation d'attachement font état d'évaluations contradictoires des personnes prenant soin d'eux et ont des difficultés à réfléchir à leurs expériences traumatiques durant l'enfance. Ce passage en revue est le premier à systématiquement intégrer les résultats de toutes les études empiriques sur les états d'esprit Hostile-Impuissant pour essayer de mettre en évidence les contributions scientifiques et cliniques du concept et guider les recherches futures. En suivant la structure méthodologique de Arksey et O'Malley (2005) les mots clés de référence croisée ont fait l'objet d'une recherche dans trois bases de données (PsycArticles, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, ProQuest). Au total 19 études ont rempli les critères d'inclusion et ont été inclues dans la synthèse. Les résultats suggèrent que les taux de prévalence d'états d'esprit Hostile-Impuissant augmentent en tant que fonction du statut de risque psychologique des adultes. Les résultats révèlent aussi que les conséquences à long terme du trauma précoce sont plus grandes en présence d'un état d'esprit Hostile-Impuissant, alors que l'absence d'état d'esprit hostile-Impuissance agit en tant que facteur protecteur contre la transmission intergénérationnel de mal-adaptation. Enfin, les résultats soutiennent la validité discriminante de la classification Hostile-Impuissant par rapport à d'autres formes de désorganisation de l'attachement à l'âge adulte. Les écarts dans les recherches et des directions futures de recherches sont discutés.

Socioemotional development in infants of pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic: the role of prenatal and postnatal maternal distress.

BACKGROUND: An upsurge in psychological distress was documented in pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic. We investigated with a longitudinal design whether prenatal and postnatal maternal distress during the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with lower infant socioemotional development. METHODS: Pregnant women (N = 468, Mage = 30,00, 97.6% White) were recruited during the first COVID-19 mandatory lockdown in Quebec, Canada, from April 2nd to April 13th 2020 and were re-contacted at two months postpartum to complete self-reported measures of general (i.e. not specifically related to the COVID-19 pandemic) anxio-depressive symptoms and infant development. Structural equation modeling analyses were performed using maximum likelihood parameter estimation. RESULTS: Higher maternal prenatal distress significantly contributed to poorer infant socioemotional development. A mediation model showed that postnatal distress significantly mediated the association between prenatal distress and infant socioemotional development, whereas the direct effect of prenatal distress was no longer significant. Prenatal and postnatal maternal distress accounted for 13.7% of the variance in infant socioemotional development. CONCLUSION: Our results call for special means of clinical surveillance in mothers and for innovative (online) interventions aiming to support maternal mental health during pregnancy and after delivery.

An Attachment-Based Parental Capacity Assessment to Orient Decision-Making in Child Protection Cases: A Randomized Control Trial.

Two parenting capacity assessment (PCA) protocols, with a short parent-child intervention embedded in each protocol, evaluated the potential for enhanced parenting to orient child placement decision. Parents (n = 69), with substantiated reports of maltreatment by child protective services, and their children (0-6) were randomly assigned to one of two PCAs with either the Attachment Video-feedback (PCA-AVI) or a psychoeducational intervention (PCA-PI) as the embedded intervention component. The PCA-AVI group showed the highest increases in parent-child interaction quality at post-test. Also, at PCA completion, evaluators' conclusions about the parents' capacity to care for both PCA groups were associated with parent-child interactive improvements at post-test, the court's placement decision at post-test, and child placement one year later. However, only conclusions drawn by PCA-AVI evaluators were predictive of child re-reports of maltreatment in the year following PCA. PCAs, relying on short attachment interventions to assess the potential for enhanced parenting, are promising tools to orient child placement decisions.

Maternal childhood abuse and neglect predicts offspring development in early childhood: The roles of reflective functioning and child sex.

BACKGROUND: Recent evidence suggests that offspring of mothers having been exposed to childhood abuse and neglect (CA&N) are at increased risk of developmental problems and that boys are more affected by maternal CA&N than girls. Since impairments in reflective functioning (RF) have been associated with maternal CA&N and offspring development, RF could represent a key mechanism in these intergenerational risk trajectories. OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated mediating (RF) and moderating (child sex) mechanisms in the association between maternal CA&N and child development. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: In a longitudinal setting, 111 mothers completed measures during pregnancy and between 11 and 36 months postpartum. METHODS: CA&N and impairments in RF were assessed during pregnancy and offspring development was measured during the longitudinal follow-up using the Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQ-3). Child development was operationalized in two ways: using the global score at the ASQ-3 and using a dichotomous score of accumulation of delays across domains of development. RESULTS: Structural equation modeling indicated that RF mediated the association between maternal CA&N and offspring development. Child sex moderated the association between CA&N and the clustering of developmental problems (Wald = 5.88, p = 0.02), with boys being particularly likely to accumulate developmental delays when their mother experienced CA&N (RR = 2.62). Accumulation of developmental problems was associated with impairments in maternal RF in girls and with maternal exposure to CA&N in boys. CONCLUSIONS: Results provide novel insights on the role of mentalization and child sex in the association between maternal CA&N and child development.

Foster family assessment: The assessor's perspective - A qualitative study.

Children in foster care are more likely to exhibit emotional, behavioral, social, and developmental problems. Accordingly, foster families should provide them with a safe family environment that promotes their development. Therefore, to ensure that foster families adequately meet children's needs, it is crucial for youth protection services to properly assess prospective foster family applicants. However, the specific assessment methods are understudied. This study aims to capture the experiences of caseworkers and the challenges they face in assessing and selecting potential foster caregivers, as well as their needs for support to perform the assessments. Focus groups were held in child protection services agencies in the province of Québec (Canada). Three group interviews with a total of 15 caseworkers were transcribed and subjected to content analysis using NVivo 11. The caseworkers identified nine most important dimensions for assessing prospective foster families, notably motivation and engagement. Differences in the assessment process between caseworkers were observed, particularly for the type of foster family assessed. The caseworkers reported certain common needs for assessment training, primarily in interview techniques and the handling of multicultural issues. They also complained of lack of time allocated for clinical support during assessments. The results call for collaborative efforts between researchers and practitioners to provide appropriate training and tools to support the assessment process.

Transmission of parental childhood trauma to child behavior problems: Parental Hostile/Helpless state of mind as a moderator.

BACKGROUND: Little attention has been given to intergenerational transmission of risk, mainly whether caregivers' history of childhood maltreatment is linked to behavioral symptoms in their children and which protective/risk factors are involved in this transmission process. OBJECTIVE: This study examined if parental Hostile/Helpless (H/H) state of mind with respect to attachment moderated the association between parental childhood trauma and behavior problems in maltreated children. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: The sample included 61 parents and their children victims or at very high risk of maltreatment, aged between 1 and 6 years old. METHOD: Parents retrospectively reported their childhood trauma and completed a measure of their children's behavior problems. Independent observers assessed H/H attachment representations. RESULTS: Among parents with H/H states of mind, more severe traumatic childhood experiences were associated with more externalizing and internalizing behavior problems in their children. Among non-H/H parents, associations between parental childhood trauma and child behavior problems were not significant. CONCLUSIONS: In the context of trauma, this study suggests that the absence of a H/H state of mind in parents (i.e., the presence of an organized attachment state of mind) is a protective factor for child adjustment. H/H mental representations of self and attachment experiences as targets of intervention for parents with histories of maltreatment may help reduce the transmission of risk in maltreating families.

Child Psychological Functioning During the COVID-19 Lockdown: An Ecological, Family-Centered Approach.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate how sociodemographic characteristics and various aspects of parent well-being, family functioning, parent-child relationship, and child characteristics are related to psychological functioning in children aged 9 to 12 years during the COVID-19 lockdown. METHOD: Participants included 144 children aged 9 to 12 years and their parents who lived in the province of Quebec, Canada, during the COVID-19 mandatory lockdown. Parents and children were administered a phone-based survey in which various child, parent, parent-child, and family characteristics were assessed. RESULTS: Results showed that higher internalizing problems in children were related to greater depressive symptoms in parents, lower attachment security to parents, and greater aversion to aloneness in children. Results on externalizing behavior problems showed that more problems were associated with more family dysfunction and chaos and lower attachment security to parents. Finally, results on children's anxiety toward COVID-19 showed that more anxiety was associated with greater parental anxiety toward COVID-19 and more child aversion to aloneness. CONCLUSION: Our findings showed that even during an unusual and stressful context such as a pandemic, proximal variables such as the attachment relationship that have been known to be closely associated with adaptation are significantly related to child psychological functioning. Such observations are important because they highlight factors that may accentuate child vulnerability in times of a pandemic and shed light on potential intervention targets.

Investigating the link between sleep and postpartum depression in fathers utilizing subjective and objective sleep measures.

BACKGROUND: While fathers are at risk of developing poorer sleep and depressive symptoms in the postpartum period, they represent an understudied population in the literature. The present study aimed to explore the association between sleep and postpartum depressive symptoms in fathers using subjective and objective sleep measures. METHODS: Fifty-four fathers reporting no history of depression took part in this cross-sectional study. At 6 months postpartum, paternal sleep was assessed for 2 weeks utilizing a self-report daily sleep diary, a self-report perceived sleep quality rating, and actigraphy. In the same period, depressive symptoms in fathers were assessed with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D). RESULTS: Regression analyses showed that paternal subjective sleep variables captured by the sleep diary (total nocturnal sleep time and number of night awakenings) were not related to postpartum depressive symptoms. However, self-reported perceived sleep quality was significantly associated with postpartum depressive symptom severity in fathers independently of demographic variables related to depression. Alternatively, the objective sleep variables (total nocturnal sleep time, number of night awakenings, sleep efficiency, and wake after sleep onset), measured by actigraphy, did not demonstrate a significant relationship with paternal depression scores. CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight the importance of perceived sleep quality, along with better understanding its association with postpartum depressive symptoms. Implementing a multi-measure approach enabled us to expand our knowledge about how different facets of sleep relate to postpartum depression, specifically in fathers. The results have important implications for the development of clinical interventions targeting paternal sleep and mood in the postpartum period.

Relations between Child and Parent Fears and Changes in Family Functioning Related to COVID-19.

In adults, higher anxiety level related to COVID-19 has been associated with having a pre-existing medical or mental health condition and poor sleep quality. However, no study yet has looked at these links in children. The present study's main aim was to assess family changes associated with child and parent fears and concerns about COVID-19. We conducted a cross-sectional study among 144 families with children aged 9-12 years during the COVID-19 lockdown period. Families came from Quebec, Canada, and the survey was done in the early stages of the lockdown (April-May 2020). A phone-based survey assessed parent and child COVID-19-related fears and concerns, family-related changes and health issues. Results showed the more fears parents have about COVID-19, the more fears their child also has. Moreover, changes in family sleep habits were associated with parental and child fears and concerns about COVID-19. Reduced access to health services was associated with parental concerns about COVID-19. If another lockdown was to be put in place in the future, it would be important to inform families on the importance of sleep schedules and to maintain or increase health appointments when possible.

Paternal distress and child behavior problems in low-SES families: Quality of father-child interactions as mediators.

This study examines, in low-income families, whether fathers' distress is associated with behavioral problems in preschool children and if the quality of father-child interactions mediates this association. Participants were 81 children between the ages of 3 and 5 years and their parents who were receiving social welfare. Quality of father-child interactions was assessed during a free-play situation and a toy cleanup task, fathers' parenting stress and psychological distress were self-reported, and children's behavior problems were assessed by both parents. Results showed that the quality of father-child interactions during free play, but not during cleanup, partially mediated the link between father distress and child internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. Our findings point to the role of the father-child relationship in the intergenerational transmission of risk in the preschool period. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Perception of infant sleep problems: the role of negative affectivity and maternal depression.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether the interaction between infant negative affectivity and maternal depressive symptoms is associated with the degree to which mothers perceive infant sleep to be problematic at 6 months postpartum, independent of infant sleep and sociodemographic factors. METHODS: Infant negative affectivity and maternal depressive symptoms were assessed in a sample of 59 mother-infant dyads at 6 months postpartum using standardized measures. Mothers reported the degree to which they perceived their infant's sleep to be problematic via an item composite of the Sleep Practices Questionnaire. Nocturnal infant sleep variables (duration, number of awakenings) were retrieved from a 2-week infant sleep diary (maternal report). RESULTS: There was a significant interaction between infant negative affectivity and maternal depressive symptoms in predicting mothers' perceived extent of infant sleep problems. Simple slope analysis showed that high levels of depression were related to higher maternal perception of infant sleep problem scores only among mothers of infants with high levels of negative affectivity. Moreover, infant negative affectivity and maternal depressive symptoms positively predicted perception scores after adjustment for infant sleep, maternal age, and parity (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: The current study provides evidence that high levels of maternal depression combined with high levels of infant negative affectivity may contribute to mothers' perceptions of infant sleep problems, independent of infant sleep duration and awakenings. These findings highlight the importance for pediatricians and other health professionals to consider infant temperament in conjunction with mothers' depressive symptoms when addressing mothers' concerns about infant sleep problems.

Mothers' and fathers' sleep: Is there a difference between first-time and experienced parents of 6-month-olds?

Sleep disruption and deprivation are highly prevalent among parents of an infant. However, most postpartum sleep studies focus solely on mothers, and few studies have investigated whether sleep differs between first-time and experienced parents. The present study aimed to determine whether self-reported sleep duration and quality differ between first-time and experienced mothers and fathers during the postpartum period. A total of 111 parents (54 couples and three single mothers) of 6-month-old infants completed a 2-week sleep diary to evaluate measures of sleep duration, sleep continuity, and sleep quality. An analysis of covariance model was used to compare the sleep variables of first-time to experienced parents. Breastfeeding frequency, infant sleep location, depression, education, and work status were used as co-variables. First-time mothers reported a longer consecutive nocturnal sleep duration (mean [SEM] 297.34 [17.15] versus 246.01 [14.79] min, p < .05), fewer nocturnal awakenings (mean [SEM] 1.57 [0.20] versus 2.12 [0.17], p < .05), and rated their sleep quality higher (mean [SEM] score 7.07 [0.36] versus 5.97 [0.30], p < .05) than experienced mothers, while total nocturnal sleep duration did not differ. There were no differences in subjective sleep measures between first-time and experienced fathers. The present study indicates that experienced mothers reported more fragmented sleep and perceived having worse sleep quality than first-time mothers, but that paternal sleep did not differ as a function of parental experience. These findings have clinical implications for healthcare professionals working with families of various configurations and sizes.

Sleeping through the night or through the nights?

OBJECTIVE: There are substantial inter-individual differences in infants' longest consecutive sleep duration. However, intra-individual differences are rarely considered. The present study aimed to describe night-to-night variability in achieving 6 or 8 h of consolidated sleep over a 13-night period in 6-month-old infants. METHODS: Forty-four typically developing infants were part of the study (22 girls). When infants were 6 months old, mothers were asked to complete an infant sleep diary over 13 nights to measure the longest period of uninterrupted sleep each night. Two criteria were used to determine if infants were sleeping through the night: 6 and 8 h of uninterrupted sleep. RESULTS: On average, mothers reported that their infant slept 6 h consecutively for about 5 nights out of 13. Nine infants (20.5%) never slept 6 h consecutively, three (6.8%) met the criterion every night, but most infants (n = 32; 72.7%) showed high variability between the nights. Mothers reported that their infant slept 8 h consecutively for about 3 nights out of 13. Half of the infants (50.0%) never slept 8 h consecutively, one infant (2.3%) slept 8 h consecutively every night, and twenty-one infants (47.7%) showed high variability. CONCLUSIONS: These findings expand current knowledge by showing that there is not only high inter-individual variability, but also high intra-individual variability in infant sleep consolidation. Parents and clinicians should be aware that occasional sleeping through the night does not necessarily indicate a consolidation of this behavior.