Work

Sleep and attachment in early childhood: a series of meta-analyses

Year: 2017

Type: review

Study designs: Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis

Abstract: Empirical findings regarding the association between child attachment and sleep have been inconsistent. The objectives of this series of meta-analyses were to assess the size of the association between child sleep and attachment and to examine whether study methodology (attachment measure, sleep measure) and age moderate this association. Sixteen studies (2783 children aged from 6 to 38 months) were included. Significant associations were found between attachment security and sleep efficiency (r = .18) and attachment resistance and sleep problems (r = .18). There were significant moderator effects of sleep measure and age of the child, with the size of the association between sleep and attachment security increasing with age (R2 analog = .67). Inconsistent findings are likely due to inter-study variabilities in methodology and to a developmental effect on the sleep-attachment association.

Source: Attachment & Human Development

DOI: 10.1080/14616734.2017.1293703

Authors: Valérie Simard, Valérie Chevalier, Marie-Michèle Bédard

Institutions: Université de Sherbrooke, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine, CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center

Language: English

Topic: Attachment and Relationship Dynamics

Subfield: Social Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funders: Université de Sherbrooke, Fonds de Recherche du Québec-Société et Culture, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada