463 - A Qualitative Comparison Between Sleep-Related Parenting Practices in Low-income Mexican American Parents of Toddlers with the Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire

Saturday, April 29, 2023

3:30 PM – 6:00 PM ET

Poster Number: 463
Publication Number: 463.216

Estefania Miramontes, University of Colorado, Aurora, CO, United States; Lisa J. Meltzer, National Jewish Health, Denver, CO, United States; Suzanna Martinez, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States; JEANNE M.. TSCHANN, jeanne.tschann@ucsf.edu, SAN FRANCISCO, CA, United States; Caroline Tietbohl, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, United States; Andrea M. Jimenez-Zambrano, University of Colorado, Aurora, CO, United States; julia Reedy, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver, CO, United States; Darcy A.. Thompson, University of Colorado, Aurora, CO, United States

Presenting Author(s)

Estefania Miramontes Valdes, MD (she/her/hers)

Research Services Senior Professional/Project Manager
University of Colorado
Aurora, Colorado, United States

Background: Knowledge about sleep in toddlers comes primarily from studies of non-Latino and economically advantaged families and may not reflect socioecological factors in low-income Mexican American families. Whether the most widely used assessment of infant/toddler sleep, the Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire (BISQ), captures the sleep ecology and parenting practices in this population is unknown.

Objective:

To identify similarities and differences between parental accounts of their child’s sleep ecology and sleep-related parenting practices and the BISQ, a validated measure of sleep-related behaviors, sleeping arrangements, and bedtime routines in 0-36 month olds.

Design/Methods:

This qualitative study employed in-depth interviews with a purposeful sample of low-income Mexican American Spanish-speaking (n=10) and English-speaking mothers (n=10) of toddlers (18-34 months old). Interviews focused on sleep routines, perceptions of toddler sleep behaviors, and environmental contributors. Transcripts were coded by two investigators and analyzed using a content analytic approach. Findings were qualitatively compared to items in the BISQ.

Results:

Average participant age was 31 years, and 75% (n=15) had ≤ high school degree. There was notable overlap in sleep routines described by mothers and items in the BISQ. However, there were three notable areas where the BISQ did not fully capture sleep ecology and sleep-related parenting practices: sleeping location, how child falls asleep at bedtime, and how mothers respond to child night wakings. Some mothers reported the couch as a sleep location for falling asleep, which is not included on the BISQ. Bed sharing was a common theme in interviews, which overlapped with how the child fell asleep and how mothers responded to night wakings. For example, the BISQ asks about children falling asleep while being held or rocked, yet mothers described either cuddling or lying together in bed with their child at sleep onset. Similarly, for night wakings, the BISQ asks whether a parent picks a child up or takes a child out of the crib/bed. However, for parents who bed share, parental response to night wakings focused more on cuddling, massaging, or simply lying next to child.

Conclusion(s):

While the BISQ is a useful instrument for capturing sleep routines, items could be adapted to accurately capture practices among low-income Mexican American parents of toddlers. Future interventions should also consider how different sleep ecologies and values may impact sleep-related parenting practices.