Associations between maternal characteristics, infant sleep, and perceived infant temperament in the first year of life: A longitudinal study

Abstract

Background: Maternal factors, such as her sleep, mood and bonding to her infant, are closely linked to her perceptions of the infant. As mothers tend to be the primary informants on their child’s health and behaviors in research, education and medical settings, a better understanding of the factors that influence maternal perceptions could improve methodologies for assessing infants’wellbeing in the absence of direct measurements. The present study examined the associations between maternal characteristics and perceptions of their infant’s sleep and temperament in the first year of life. Methods: The participants were 195 mothers of 4- to 8-month-old infants (T0), 76 of whom completed questionnaires six months later (T1). The T0 questionnaires assessed infant sleep, mother’s sleep, postpartum depression, and mother-infant bonding. The T1 questionnaires were the same except for postpartum depression, with the addition of an infant temperament questionnaire. Results: Despite increased total sleep time and decreased nighttime awakening, mothers’ perceptions of infant sleep problems remained stable across time points. Perceived infant sleep difficulties were primarily associated with concurrent measures of infants’ and mothers’ sleep, whereas perceived difficult temperament was associated with maternal postpartum depression symptoms and bonding difficulty. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that from mothers’ perspective, sleep problems and difficult temperament are different cognitive constructs related to their child’s behavior and personality. Mothers’ perceptions of their infant sleep behaviors are grounded in temporally proximal infant sleep behaviors, whereas perceptions of the infant’s temperament, particularly negative affect, may reflect more long-term effects of maternal mental health.