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Cited by 174Sleep and related disordersInfant Health and DevelopmentChild and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development

“My child has a sleep problem”: A cross-cultural comparison of parental definitions

Sadeh, Avi, Mindell, Jodi, Rivera, Luis·2011·Sleep Medicine
DOI 10.1016/j.sleep.2010.10.008
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Abstract

Background Sleep problems are highly prevalent in early childhood. In many cases, parents seek professional help when they suspect their child suffers from a sleep problem. The aim of this study was to explore sleep, demographic and cultural factors associated with parental definition of child sleep problem in a large-scale, cross cultural study.Methods Parents (or caregivers) of 29,287 infants and toddlers (aged 0-3 years) from 17 countries completed a questionnaire on their child's sleep patterns, sleep setting, and demographic variables.Results The results indicated that, in comparison to parents from predominantly Caucasian (PC) countries, parents from predominantly Asian (PA) countries were significantly more likely to identify a sleep problem in their children (26% vs 52% overall; 2% vs 17% "severe" sleep problem). Furthermore, whereas infant sleep variables were strong predictors of a sleep problem definition in PC countries, they were significantly less predictive in PA countries where demographic variables played a significant role.Conclusions These results highlight the need to further explore the role of demographic and cultural variables in determining parental perception of a sleep problem, a perception that relates to help seeking professional treatment for infant sleep problems. Our findings also emphasize the need to educate parents about infant and toddler sleep and to provide parents information and screening tools to help them identify sleep problems in a more evidence-based approach.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.sleep.2010.10.008

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  • The definition of a child's 'sleep problem' differed between countries relative to primary race/ethnicity.

    “Sadeh and colleagues (Sadeh et al., 2011) found that the definition of a child’s ‘sleep problem’ differed between countries relative to primary race/ethnicity.”

    From Addressing sleep disturbances: an opportunity to prevent cardiometabolic disease? (2014) · cites this paper as Sadeh et al., 2011

  • In primarily white countries, a child's 'sleep problem' was largely determined by length of sleep episode, nocturnal wakefulness, number of night wakings, and total sleep time.

    “In primarily white countries, a ‘sleep problem’ was largely determined by length of sleep episode, nocturnal wakefulness, number of night wakings and total sleep time”

    From Addressing sleep disturbances: an opportunity to prevent cardiometabolic disease? (2014) · cites this paper as Sadeh et al., 2011

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Authors
Sadeh, A., Mindell, J., & Rivera, L.
Affiliations
  • Tel Aviv University (IL)
  • Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (US)
  • Makati Medical Center (PH)
Corresponding author
Sadeh, Avi
ORCID
Venue
Sleep Medicine
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2011-05
Volume
12
Issue
5
Pages
478-482
ISSN
1389-9457 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.sleep.2010.10.008
OpenAlex
W2047759042
Cited by
173
References
30
Citations by year
2026: 10 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 23 · 2020: 20 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 12 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 7 · 2012: 3
FWCI
7.41
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations
  • Sleep Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and related disorders
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Pharmacy › Infant Health and Development
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
Keywords
infant sleep problems, toddler sleep, parental attitudes, cross-cultural comparison, Asian countries, sleep patterns, sleep environment, demographic factors, professional help-seeking, parent education, screening tool
MeSH terms
Adult, Child, Preschool, Cross-Cultural Comparison, Female, Humans, Infant, Infant, Newborn, Male, Parents, Predictive Value of Tests, Surveys and Questionnaires, Sleep, Sleep Wake Disorders, Prevalence, Logistic Models, Internationality, White People, Asian People

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