Maternal Parenting Behavior and Preschoolers' Sleep Problems: The Mediating Role of Effortful Control in a Korean Population.

Abstract

Objective: Sleep quality and quantity are critical for preschoolers' physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development. This study examined the individual and environmental factors associated with preschoolers' sleep problems. Specifically, we investigated the direct effects of maternal parenting behavior and the indirect effects mediated by preschoolers' effortful control.

Method: A total of 774 mothers with preschool-aged children (aged 3-6 years) participated in this study. They completed a questionnaire assessing their parenting behavior, as well as their children's effortful control and sleep problems.

Results: Our analysis yielded 3 major findings. First, we found that rejecting and chaotic maternal parenting behaviors were directly associated with sleep problems in preschoolers. Second, preschoolers' effortful control mediated the relationship between positive maternal parenting behavior and preschoolers' sleep problems. Third, among the 3 dimensions of negative maternal parenting behavior, the mediating effect of effortful control was observed only in the context of chaotic parenting.

Conclusion: These results suggest that maternal negative and positive parenting behaviors may be differentially related to preschoolers' sleep problems, with the former exhibiting a more proximal association and the latter potentially linked through mediated processes. Furthermore, when home environments are unpredictable or inconsistent, preschoolers may struggle to develop appropriate behavioral regulation, which can contribute to sleep problems.