639 An exploratory study of parents-child co-sleeping in Korea

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Asian cultures, including Korea, are known to have a higher proportion of parent-child co-sleeping than Western cultures. While recent studies have shown that bed-sharing increases the mother’s depression and causes sleep problems for children, there has never been a study in Asia on the sleep problems of parents and children caused by co-sleeping. Therefore, we aim to investigate the types of sleep problems in children and their mothers’ insomnia severity due to co-sleeping. Methods This study was conducted in 79 mothers (mean age 33.65 ±3.98 years) who reported having insomnia due to their children. All participants had children between 6 to 36 months old. Participants were asked to answer the survey includes demographics, sleep environment, child’s sleep problems, child’s health status items and the mother’s insomnia (measured by the Insomnia Severity Index; ISI). Children’s age was divided into 5 age groups (6 – 11, 12 - 17, 18 - 23, 24 - 29, and 30 to 36 months). Frequency analysis and independent t-test were conducted. Results Of the total respondents, 72.2% (n=57) reported co-sleeping with their children. The most reported sleep problem in children was waking up in the middle of the night 51.9% (n=41), followed by difficulty in sleep initiation 12.7% (n=10), looking for mother or an attachment object 12.7% (n=10), sleep-limiting problems 7.5% (n=6), multiple problems 12.7% (n=10), and none 2.5% (n=2). An independent t-test results for determining whether co-sleeping caused a difference in the severity of maternal insomnia was significant in the 6 to 11 months group only (t=-2.336, p<.05). The co-sleeping mother’s ISI average score (M=18.28) was significantly higher than mother who slept separate from her child (M=14.31). Conclusion Co-sleeping in Asian cultures is prevalent, and may require attention and intervention for mothers who report having insomnia due to their children’s sleep disturbance. Support (if any):