The DOI matches its Crossref record; 29 of the 30 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
“My child has a sleep problem”: A cross-cultural comparison of parental definitions
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.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“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 the citing paper
“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
Citations
Cites
Fraiberg, S., Adelson, E., & Shapiro, V. (1975) · Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/s0002-7138(09)61442-4 · Cited by 1,574
Sadeh, A. (2004) · PEDIATRICS · doi:10.1542/peds.113.6.e570 · Cited by 880
Self-citationBehavioral treatment of bedtime problems and night wakings in infants and young children
(2006) · Sleep · doi:10.1093/sleep/29.10.1263 · Cited by 849
Self-citationSadeh, A., Tikotzky, L., & Scher, A. (2010) · Sleep Medicine Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.smrv.2009.05.003 · Cited by 595
Self-citationSleep and sleep ecology in the first 3 years: a web-based study
SADEH, A., MINDELL, J. A., LUEDTKE, K., & WIEGAND, B. (2009) · Journal of Sleep Research · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2869.2008.00699.x · Cited by 510
Self-citationChildren's Sleep: An Interplay Between Culture and Biology
Jenni, O. G., & O'Connor, B. B. (2005) · PEDIATRICS · doi:10.1542/peds.2004-0815b · Cited by 476
Sleep Problems in Early Childhood: Continuities, Predictive Factors, and Behavioral Correlates
Zuckerman, B., Stevenson, J., & Bailey, V. (1987) · Pediatrics · doi:10.1542/peds.80.5.664 · Cited by 472
Cross-cultural differences in infant and toddler sleep
Mindell, J. A., Sadeh, A., Wiegand, B., How, T. H., & Goh, D. Y. T. (2010) · Sleep Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2009.04.012 · Cited by 461
Self-citationOutcomes of Infant Sleep Problems: A Longitudinal Study of Sleep, Behavior, and Maternal Well-Being
Lam, P., Hiscock, H., & Wake, M. A. (2003) · PEDIATRICS · doi:10.1542/peds.111.3.e203 · Cited by 356
Dyssomnias and Parasomnias in Early Childhood
Petit, D., Touchette, E., Tremblay, R. E., Boivin, M., & Montplaisir, J. (2007) · Pediatrics · doi:10.1542/peds.2006-2132 · Cited by 355
Flagged first, then by citations
1 of the 30 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 101–174 of 174
Screening and Evaluation of Sleep Disturbances and Sleep Disorders in Children and Adolescents
Baddam, S. K. R., Canapari, C. A., de Grift, J. V., McGirr, C., Nasser, A. Y., & Crowley, M. J. (2024) · Psychiatric Clinics of North America · doi:10.1016/j.psc.2023.06.005 · Cited by 9
The Mother-Infant Sleep Nexus: Night-Time Experiences in Early Infancy and Later Outcomes
Ball, H. L. (2019) · Bioarchaeology and social theory · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-27393-4_9 · Cited by 7
Associations between demographic and parental factors and infant sleep characteristics
Zhang, Z., Matenchuk, B. A., Skow, R. J., Davenport, M. H., & Carson, V. (2022) · Sleep and Biological Rhythms · doi:10.1007/s41105-022-00438-w · Cited by 6
Variation in Caregiver-Reported Child Sleep Patterns and Problems by Family Socioeconomic Indicators
Lupini, F., Daniel, L. C., Mindell, J. A. A., & Williamson, A. A. (2023) · Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics · doi:10.1097/dbp.0000000000001211 · Cited by 6
Self-citationAntsygina, O., Rollo, S., McRae, N., Chaput, J., & Tremblay, M. S. (2024) · Sleep Medicine Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.smrv.2024.102023 · Cited by 7
Amount of sleep and changes in its patterns in children less than two years old
Miaja, M. F., Fernández, C. R., Pérez, M. L. F., Zubillaga, D. M., Quiñones, J. M., & Fernández, L. M. R. (2015) · Anales de Pediatría (English Edition) · doi:10.1016/j.anpede.2014.02.004 · Cited by 6
Agreement between parent-reports and child self-reports of sleep problems in Chinese children
Liu, J., Wang, G., Ji, X., Cui, N., & Liu, X. (2018) · Sleep and Biological Rhythms · doi:10.1007/s41105-018-0152-z · Cited by 7
Zreik, G., Asraf, K., Tikotzky, L., & Haimov, I. (2021) · Sleep Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2021.02.032 · Cited by 6
Sun, W., Kwok, N. T. T., Chan, N. Y., Chan, J. W. Y., Zhang, J., Chan, K. C. C., & Li, S. X. (2021) · Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine · doi:10.5664/jcsm.9346 · Cited by 9
Yang, Y., Zou, J., Wei, Q., Shi, Y., Zhang, Y., & Shi, H. (2022) · The Journal of Pediatrics · doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2022.01.045 · Cited by 6
Duarte, A., Martins, S., Augusto, C., Silva, M. J., Lopes, L., Santos, R., Martins, J., & Rosario, R. V. (2024) · Sleep Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2024.12.006 · Cited by 5
Jacquier, D., & Newman, C. J. (2018) · Sleep Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2018.11.016 · Cited by 5
Miaja, M. F., Fernández, C. R., Pérez, M. L. F., Zubillaga, D. M., Quiñones, J. M., & Fernández, L. M. R. (2014) · Anales de Pediatría · doi:10.1016/j.anpedi.2014.02.002 · Cited by 5
Murray, L., McDonald, N., & Vo, T. V. (2019) · Health Care For Women International · doi:10.1080/07399332.2019.1569014 · Cited by 12
Predicting future sleep problems in young autistic children
Shui, A., Lampinen, L. A., Richdale, A., & Katz, T. (2023) · Autism · doi:10.1177/13623613231152963 · Cited by 3
Skúladóttir, A., Sigurðardóttir, A. Ó., & Svavarsdóttir, E. K. (2021) · Nordic journal of nursing research · doi:10.1177/20571585211044503 · Cited by 4
Maternal Sleep Quality and Executive Function are Associated with Perceptions of Infant Sleep
Brown, S. M., Donovan, C., & Williamson, A. A. (2024) · Behavioral Sleep Medicine · doi:10.1080/15402002.2024.2355473 · Cited by 9
Sleep help-seeking behavior of parents with children with insomnia—what counts!
Zschoche, M., Kübler, A., & Schlarb, A. A. (2024) · Somnologie - Schlafforschung und Schlafmedizin · doi:10.1007/s11818-024-00465-4 · Cited by 4
Infant Sleep in a Family Context
Teti, D. M. (2017) · National symposium on family issues · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-64780-7_1 · Cited by 4
Exploratory study of bedtime resistance in toddlers
Carson, M., Leichman, E. S., Mack, M. C., Rotella, K. N., & Mindell, J. A. A. (2025) · European Journal of Pediatrics · doi:10.1007/s00431-025-06453-6 · Cited by 3
Self-citationLima, R. B. D. S., & Barbosa, L. P. (2025) · Sleep Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2025.106718 · Cited by 3
Pattern of Sleep in Infants and Toddlers Visiting at a Teaching Hospital in Lalitpur
Shrestha, D., Dhakal, A., Shakya, A., Shah, S. C., Shakya, H., Mehata, S., & Sadeh, A. (2015) · Journal of Nepal Paediatric Society · doi:10.3126/jnps.v35i1.12093 · Cited by 3
Self-citationThe family’s role in sleep health
Buxton, O. M., Adams, E. L., Bai, L., & Teti, D. M. (2021) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-815501-1.00005-3 · Cited by 3
Kolomeichuk, S. N., Коростовцева, Л. С., Morozov, A. V., Викторович, Б. М., Sviryaev, Y. V., Petrashova, D. A., Pozharskaya, V. V., Markov, A. A., Poluektov, M. G., & Gubin, D. G. (2024) · Children · doi:10.3390/children11030279 · Cited by 3
Bedtime Rituals and Routines of Turkish Children and Perceptions of Their Mothers
Başkale, H., & Turan, T. (2017) · Journal of Turkish Sleep Medicine · doi:10.4274/jtsm.32042 · Cited by 3
A Consideration of Maternal Developmental Needs in the Treatment of Infant Sleep Problems
Twomey, J. E. (2015) · Clinical Social Work Journal · doi:10.1007/s10615-015-0554-1 · Cited by 3
Sleep problems, strengths and difficulties in elementary school children
Driouch, J., Alfer, D., Fricke-Oerkermann, L., & Lehmkuhl, G. (2013) · Health · doi:10.4236/health.2013.58a2013 · Cited by 3
A Study on Sleep Habits of Weak Children Groups
Kim, M. J., Lee, S. H., & Lee, J. Y. (2015) · The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine · doi:10.7778/jpkm.2015.29.4.001 · Cited by 3
Sleep problems and their implications from preschool to school age
Simola, P. E. (2014) · Työväentutkimus Vuosikirja · Cited by 3
Kahn, M., Poches, M., Barnett, N. R., & Gradisar, M. (2025) · Sleep Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2025.106710 · Cited by 2
Socio‐demographic predictors of sleep complaints in indigenous S iberians with a mixed economy
Wilson, H., Klimova, T. M., Knuston, K. L., Fedorova, V. I., Fedorov, A. I., Yegorovna, B. M., & Leonard, W. R. (2015) · American Journal of Physical Anthropology · doi:10.1002/ajpa.22761 · Cited by 2
Parental Influence on Sleep Habits and Problems in Preschool Children
Yalçıntaş-Sezgin, E., & Ulus, L. (2020) · Sleep and Hypnosis · doi:10.37133/sleep.hypn.2019.21.0196 · Cited by 2
Night Sleep and Parental Bedtime Practices in Low-Risk Preterm and Full-Term Late Talkers
Sansavini, A., Riva, M., Zuccarini, M., Aceti, A., Corvaglia, L., Scher, A., & Guarini, A. (2022) · Children · doi:10.3390/children9121813 · Cited by 2
Taxometric analysis of the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire
Ren, F., Wang, G., Phull, G., & Zhang, J. (2015) · Sleep and Biological Rhythms · doi:10.1111/sbr.12113 · Cited by 3
Skúladóttir, A., Sigurðardóttir, A. Ó., & Svavarsdóttir, E. K. (2020) · Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences · doi:10.1111/scs.12844 · Cited by 2
Hazumi, M., Nakajima, S., & Adachi, Y. (2020) · Nursing Open · doi:10.1002/nop2.695 · Cited by 2
Santos, I. S., Echevarria, P., Tovo‐Rodrigues, L., Matijasevich, A., Domingues, M. R., & Hallal, P. C. (2024) · Sleep Medicine X · doi:10.1016/j.sleepx.2024.100105 · Cited by 3
Butler, B., Laganière, C., Hershon, M., vandenBerg, A., Thauvin, C., Gaudreau, H., & Pennestri, M. (2025) · Sleep Health · doi:10.1016/j.sleh.2025.07.006 · Cited by 1
Tanaka, S., Yoshizaki, A., Fujisawa, T. X., Murata, E., Kosaka, T., Shinkawa, H., Yoshimura, Y., Mohri, I., Tomoda, A., Saito, M., et al. (2025) · Sleep Medicine X · doi:10.1016/j.sleepx.2025.100156 · Cited by 1
Barış, H. E., Us, M. C., Barlak, H., & Boran, P. (2026) · Sleep Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2026.108817 · Cited by 1
Gregory, A. M. (2011) · SLEEP · doi:10.5665/sleep.1262 · Cited by 1
Kothare, S. V., & Pavkovic, I. M. (2022) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-10494-7_13 · Cited by 1
Carter, M. L., Paine, S., Sweeney, B., Taylor, J. E., & Signal, T. L. (2025) · Sleep Health · doi:10.1016/j.sleh.2024.10.010 · Cited by 1
Murray, L., Tran, T. D., Vo, T. V., McDonald, N., Beggs, S. A., & Fisher, J. (2019) · BMC Pediatrics · doi:10.1186/s12887-019-1532-5 · Cited by 1
Sleep disordered breathing in children: which symptoms do parents consider a problem?
Lushington, K., Biggs, S. N., Martin, A. J., & Kennedy, J. D. (2021) · Sleep Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2021.02.014 · Cited by 1
Socioeconomic Status and Childhood Sleep: A Systematic Review and Meta-AnalysisPreprint
Cameron, E. E., Watts, D., Silang, K., Dhillon, A. K., Sohal, P. R., MacKinnon, A., Roos, L. E., & Tomfohr‐Madsen, L. M. (2022) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/u2tbh · Cited by 1
Devine, E. K., Green, R., Visontay, R., Byrne, H. R., Riches, J., Elliott, E. J., Newton, N. C., Squeglia, L. M., Mewton, L. R., & Stapinski, L. A. (2025) · medRxiv · doi:10.1101/2025.05.14.25327575 · Cited by 1
Föräldrars erfarenheter av bemötande från BVC-sköterskan vid barns sömnproblem
Nilsson, S., & Tångerud, M. (2013) · Borås Academic Digital Archive (University of Borås)
Tak, H.-J., Lee, J., Lee, C.-M., Chung, S.-H., Lee, J., Sim, C.-S., Yoon, J.-G., Sung, J. H., & Bhang, S. (2011) · Journal of korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.5765/jkacap.2011.22.3.182
Silva, F. G., Silva, C. R., Braga, L., & Neto, A. S. (2013)
Cuantificación del suey presencia de alteraciones en la duración del sueen nimenores de 2 a
Miaja, M. F., Fernández, C. R., Zubillaga, D. M., Miaja, J., & Fernández (2016)
Infant regulatory problems : neurodevelopmental vulnerability and sensitive parenting
Bilgin, A. (2026) · Warwick Research Archive Portal (University of Warwick) · doi:10.82444/warw.33742903
0–3 YAŞ ÇOCUKLARDA UYKU SORUNLARININ BELİRLENMESİ
Kurt, F. Y., Aytekin, A., & Çelebi, A. (2018) · Zeynep Kamil Tıp Bülteni · doi:10.16948/zktipb.383117
Hallam, S. (2018) · UC Research Repository (University of Canterbury) · doi:10.26021/9976
Sleep Restriction in Children and Executive Function Performance
Turnbull, K. A. (2021) · Scholarship@Western (Western University)
Effect of Nursing Interventions on Healthy Sleep Habits Among Children Aged Beş-altı Years
Özsavran, M., Ayyıldız, T. K., Topan, A. K., Erol, E., Denemiş, Ü., Kibar, E., & Özdemir, S. (2021) · Journal of Turkish Sleep Medicine · doi:10.4274/jtsm.galenos.2021.64935
Strugarek, P., & Wendland, J. (2022) · Early Child Development and Care · doi:10.1080/03004430.2021.2022657
Bartolo, C. A. D., & Braun, M. K. (2017) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-49547-7_11
Barış, H. E., SELVİ, B., Canan, T. U. N. A., Tutku Nil, A. R. A. S., Sarar, G. İ., KANTARCI, M., & Boran, P. (2022) · Turkiye Klinikleri Journal of Pediatrics · doi:10.5336/pediatr.2021-86634
Sleep Problems and Influencing Factors in Children Aged 0-3 Years
Azak, M., Korkmaz, N., Şahin, K., & Balcı, S. (2024) · Bezmialem Science · doi:10.14235/bas.galenos.2024.56688
Infant sleep health disparities and cross-cultural differences
Lupini, F., & Williamson, A. A. (2024) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-323-82759-1.00024-2
Child Sleep Concerns: Caregiver Problem Recognition and Help-Seeking
Kruse, M. M., & Fehr, K. K. (2025) · Clinical Practice in Pediatric Psychology · doi:10.1177/21694826251319302
Berger, S. E., Benish‐Weisman, M., Thakur, S., & Barnett, N. R. (2025) · Infancy · doi:10.1111/infa.70057
Meng, R., Dong, L., Dzierzewski, J. M., Mastrotheodoros, S., Cao, M., Yu, B., Wang, J., Gong, B., Li, J., & Spruyt, K. (2024) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.26602390
Massar, S. A. A., & Chan, R. N. (2026) · Sleep Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2026.108770
Entre croyances et réalités : apaiser les nuits… ou les discours ?
Pasquier, A. (2025) · Les Dossiers de l obstétrique · doi:10.54695/dosf.551.0019
van Eeden, S., & Knowland, V. C. P. (2026) · The Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal · doi:10.1177/10556656261423833
Parental help-seeking for sleep in children aged 0–5 years: A systematic review
Ford, A. J., Vincent, G. E., Benveniste, T., Bachmann, A., & Sprajcer, M. A. (2026) · Sleep Medicine Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.smrv.2026.102288
Michon, T.-L., Kheirdariyar, S., vandenBerg, A., Ilesanmi, R., Soroush-Asghari, N., Hershon, M., Ly, M., Pennestri, M., & Keys, E. (2026) · Paediatrics & Child Health · doi:10.1093/pch/pxag018
Devine, E. K., Green, R., Visontay, R., Byrne, H. R., Riches, J., Elliott, E. J., Newton, N. C., Squeglia, L. M., Mewton, L. R., & Stapinski, L. A. (2026) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/jcpp.70165 · Cited by 1
Caregiver voices and choices for infant sleep interventions across five countries: The OPTIONS study
Blunden, S. L., Honaker, S. M., Boran, P., Hyland, J., Barış, H. E., & Metse, A. P. (2026) · Sleep Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2026.109088
Review of the Current Literature
Scherer, L. (2026) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-032-25793-2_2
Zanden, B. E. V., Pickard, J. A., D’Souza, L., Aquilina, M., & Lewis, A. J. (2026) · Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology · doi:10.1080/02646838.2026.2723753
Metadata
- 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
- Venue
- Sleep Medicine
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2011-05
- Volume
- 12
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 478-482
- ISSN
- 1389-9457 (ISSN-L)
- 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
- Locations
- Sleep Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and related disorders
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › 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
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review