A Longitudinal Study on Social Competence Development and Sleeping Habits

BACKGROUND: It is known that sleep problems impact children’s health, learning, and school performance. The purpose of this paper is to examine the association between sleeping habits and social competence development. METHODS: Three hundred and nine caregiver-child dyads participated in this study, which was conducted as part of a Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) project. The caregivers answered some questionnaires about sleeping habits when the child was 9 months and 18 months old. Caregiver-child interaction was observed when the child was 30 months old, and the features of the interaction were examined using the Interaction Rating Scale (IRS) as a measure of social competence. RESULTS: The caregivers’ attitude toward sleeping in the 9-month period was found to be significantly correlated with the children’s social competence at 30 months. Moreover the caregivers’ attitude toward sleeping in the 9-month period significantly correlated with the children’s sleeping habits at 9 and 18 months. CONCLUSIONS: These findings show that the caregivers’ attitude toward sleeping is an important factor influencing the development of children’s social competence.