Direct and Indirect Contributions of Child Temperament, Parenting Stress, and Bedtime Routines to Children’s Sleep Behaviors During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

ABSTRACT The current study examined the direct and indirect contributions of children’s temperament (reactivity, persistence, and rhythmicity), parenting stress, and bedtime routines to Turkish children’s sleep behaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic. The sample was 313 mothers of children between 16 and 84 months (M = 52.42, SD = 12.36). Mothers reported their children’s sleep behaviours, children’s bedtime routines, parenting stress, and children’s temperament. Multivariate path analyses were run to test the direct and indirect effects. Results indicated that parenting stress was negatively related to children’s sleep behaviours. Further, it was found that consistency of bedtime routine environments was positively associated with children’s sleep behaviours. For the indirect associations, children’s temperament (rhythmicity and reactivity) was indirectly associated with children’s sleep behaviours via the consistency of bedtime routines. Findings underline the importance of child temperament, parenting stress, and bedtime routines for children’s sleep behaviours. The implications of the findings are discussed in light of previous research and the Bioecological model of human development in considering their functioning during the COVID-19 pandemic.