Bed-sharing and related factors in early adolescents

Abstract

ObjectiveTo investigate the prevalence of bed-sharing and examine correlates of bed-sharing habits in early adolescents. MethodsParticipants were 1452 early adolescents from 10 primary schools in Shanghai, China. Children's health status and past history, family environment and parents' attitude towards bed-sharing, and children's sleep arrangements were surveyed. Sleep was assessed by the Children's Sleep Habit Questionnaire. Tanner stage was determined by the endocrinologist. ResultsThe median of age was 10.83 years (range: 9.42–12.92; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 10.79–10.83) and boys accounted for 51.17%. The prevalence of bed-sharing was 16.8%. Positive parental attitude toward bed-sharing (OR: 9.87; 95% CI: 6.57–14.83), asthma (OR: 2.15; 95% CI: 1.16–3.98), smaller residential space (OR: 1.90; 95% CI: 1.17–3.09), extended family (OR: 1.59; 95% CI: 1.16–2.18), and being physically less mature (OR: 2.39; 95% CI: 1.16–4.91) increased the likelihood of bed-sharing. Bed-sharers were more likely to have bedtime resistance (OR: 12.20; 95% CI: 8.59–17.33), sleep anxiety (OR: 3.76; 95% CI: 2.74–5.15), and poor sleep quality (OR: 3.21; 95% CI: 2.28–4.81) compared to non-bed-sharers. Furthermore, bed-sharing was associated with daytime sleepiness (OR: 1.53; 95% CI: 1.10–2.13) but not with sleep duration. ConclusionsBed-sharing is highly prevalent among Chinese early adolescents and is significantly related to sleep quality. Parental positive attitude toward bed-sharing was the most determining factor.