Socioeconomic Status and Childhood Sleep: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Context: Socioeconomic status (SES) is increasingly understood to be a key contributor to sleep health, but the research in childhood has not been synthesized.Objective: To examine the associations between indicators of child SES and child sleep (≤18 years old), we conducted a systematic review and meta-analyses. Data Sources: CINAHL with Full Text, PsycINFO, and MEDLINE/PubMed were searched using terms to define SES and childhood to ascertain all relevant, peer-reviewed articles from database inception to 27 December 2019.Study Selection: Studies were included if an association between an indicator of parental SES and a measure of child sleep (duration, quality, and problems) was reported. Data Extraction: Data was extracted from 46 studies (N=72,915). Across these studies, total sample size across participants included in the meta-estimate was N=69,373. Results: Higher parental education was associated with longer childhood sleep duration (stronger in samples with a higher proportion of White children) and better sleep quality. Parental education was not directly associated with child sleep problems; moderation occurred by continent and the relationship was more pronounced in the Asian meta-estimate. Higher household income was not directly associated with longer childhood sleep duration, but moderation occurred by higher quality studies and the proportion of White children in the sample. Higher household income was associated with fewer sleep problems (moderated by continent) and higher sleep quality. Limitations: This review was limited by the number and methods of available published studies meeting inclusion criteria.Conclusions: Preventative programs that emphasize improvements in sleep of children and adolescents growing up in lower SES families are needed.

Neighbourhood characteristics, lifestyle factors, and child development: Secondary analysis of the All our families cohort study

“…Social characteristics refer to factors such as neighbourhood deprivation (i.e., low socioeconomic status (SES) (14), disorder (i.e., incivility, deterioration, crime) (15), social capital (16), and ethnic composition (12,17). Extant research has found strong associations between neighbourhood characteristics, particularly deprivation, with physical, behavioural, and mental health outcomes in children (18)(19)(20)(21). Children in disadvantaged neighbourhoods (i.e., lower SES and poor physical conditions) on average were at higher odds of experiencing obesity (22), having poor peer relations (23), lower cognitive development (24, 25) and more mental health concerns (26).…”