OBJECTIVE:
To investigate the consolidation of infants' self-regulated nocturnal sleep over the first year, to determine when infants first sleep through the night from 24:00 to 05:00 hours (criterion 1), for 8 hours (criterion 2), or between 22:00 and 06:00 hours (the family-congruent criterion 3).
METHODS:
This was a prospective longitudinal study with repeated measures. Parents of 75 typically developing infants completed sleep diaries for 6 days each month for 12 months. Accuracy of parent reports were assessed by using videosomnography.
RESULTS:
The largest mean increase (504 minutes) in self-regulated sleep length occurred from 1 to 4 months. The survival function decreased most rapidly (indicating greatest probability of meeting criteria) for criterion 1 at 2 months, criterion 2 at 3 months, and criterion 3 at 4 months. A 50% probability of meeting criteria 1 and 2 occurred at 3 months and at 5 months for criterion 3. The hazard function identified 2 months (criteria 1 and 2) and 3 months (criterion 3) as the most likely ages for sleeping through the night. At 12 months, 11 infants did not meet criteria 1 or 2, whereas 21 failed to meet criterion 3.
CONCLUSIONS:
The most rapid consolidation in infant sleep regulation occurs in the first 4 months. Most infants are sleeping through the night at 2 and 3 months, regardless of the criterion used. The most developmentally and socially valid criterion for sleeping through is from 22:00 to 0:600 hours. At 5 months, more than half of infants are sleeping concurrently with their parents.
The dominant research tradition in psychology, including much of cognitive-behaviour therapy, requires that large numbers of subjects be allocated randomly to form treatment groups. Treatment effects typically are assessed by testing a null hypothesis about group mean differences. This paradigm seriously thwarts the development of a science of individual behaviour, inhibits the implementation of the scientist-practitioner model, stifles innovation, impairs accountability, and precludes the scientific investigation of the exceptional or novel case. Single-case research designs, first systematically expounded by Sidman (1960), make it possible to draw scientifically valid conclusions from the investigation and treatment of individuals. Criticisms of the between-groups research paradigm are summarised, the key elements of single-case designs are outlined, and their consistent adoption strongly recommended.
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