Associations Between Parenting Styles, Sleep Indicators, and Infant Temperament in Infants Aged 0–12 Months

Technical Summary: Associations Between Parenting Styles, Sleep Indicators, and Infant Temperament in Infants Aged 0–12 Months

Problem Statement
The early infancy period (0–12 months) is a critical developmental window for establishing neurobehavioural organisation, emotional regulation, and biological rhythms. While temperament is biologically based, it interacts dynamically with the caregiving environment. Existing literature has largely examined parenting styles, infant sleep, and temperament as separate entities or focused on older age groups. There is a limited understanding of how these three factors operate simultaneously within an integrated developmental framework during the first year of life. Specifically, the mechanisms through which parenting practices influence infant temperament—potentially through sleep-related behavioural processes—remain underexplored. This study addresses the gap by examining the associations between maternal parenting styles, infant temperament traits (positive and negative affect), and sleep indicators, while investigating the mediating role of sleep indicators in this relationship.

Methodology

• Design: A cross-sectional study conducted at a state hospital in southern Turkey between August 1, 2025, and February 28, 2026.
• Participants: The sample consisted of 202 mothers of infants aged 0–12 months. Exclusion criteria included infants with chronic illnesses, neurological disorders, severe sleep disorders, or those taking medication affecting biological rhythms.
• Instruments:
  • Mother and Infant Personal Information Form: Captured demographics and health status.
  • Infant Parenting Styles Questionnaire (IPSQ): A 36-item Turkish adaptation assessing four dimensions: Involvement, Discipline, Anxiety, and Routine.
  • Infant Behavior Scale–Very Short Form (IBS-VSF): A Turkish adaptation of the IBQ-VSF measuring two temperament factors: Positive Affect (PA) and Negative Affect (NA).
  • Infant Sleep Questionnaire (ISS-P): A 12-item scale assessing three subscales: Sleep Routines, Sleep Autonomy, and Screen Media Use.
• Analysis: Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 26.0 and Hayes' PROCESS Macro (Model 4). Techniques included descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, multiple linear regression, and mediation analysis using 5,000 bootstrap samples with 95% bias-corrected confidence intervals.

Key Results

1. Parenting Styles and Temperament: Multiple regression analysis revealed that "Discipline-oriented" parenting was the only significant predictor of both Positive Affect and Negative Affect. Specifically, discipline-focused parenting positively predicted higher scores in both affect dimensions ($\beta = 0.28, p < .001$ for both). Other parenting dimensions (Involvement, Anxiety, Routine) did not show significant direct predictive effects on temperament in this model.
2. Parenting Styles and Sleep Indicators: Parenting styles significantly predicted all three sleep indicators:
   • Sleep Routines: Positively predicted by Discipline-oriented ($\beta = 0.28$) and Involvement-oriented ($\beta = 0.19$) parenting.
   • Sleep Autonomy: Negatively predicted by Discipline-oriented parenting ($\beta = -0.28$).
   • Screen Media Use: Negatively predicted by Discipline-oriented ($\beta = -0.30$) and Anxiety-oriented ($\beta = -0.17$) parenting.
   • Interpretation: Discipline-focused parenting is associated with more regular sleep routines but lower sleep autonomy and reduced screen exposure.
3. Mediation Analysis:
   • Routine-Focused Parenting $\rightarrow$ Positive Affect: Sleep routines fully mediated this relationship. The direct effect of routine-focused parenting on positive affect became non-significant when sleep routines were included in the model. The indirect effect was significant (Effect = 0.53, 95% CI [0.17, 0.97]).
   • Anxiety-Focused Parenting $\rightarrow$ Negative Affect: Screen time fully mediated the association between anxiety-focused parenting and negative affect.

Key Contributions

• Integrated Framework: The study provides an empirical examination of the triad of parenting, sleep, and temperament within the first year of life, moving beyond isolated analyses.
• Identification of Mechanisms: It identifies sleep routines and screen exposure as specific behavioural mechanisms (mediators) linking parenting practices to infant emotional outcomes.
• Nuanced Role of Discipline: The findings highlight a dual regulatory effect of discipline-focused parenting: it predicts higher positive affect (potentially through behavioural organisation) but also higher negative affect (potentially through heightened emotional reactivity), while simultaneously fostering regular sleep routines and limiting screen time.

Significance and Claims
The authors claim that parenting styles are associated with infant temperament both directly and indirectly through sleep-related regulatory mechanisms. The study suggests that sleep routines function as a vital biopsychosocial regulatory mechanism in early childhood. Specifically, the finding that sleep routines fully mediate the effect of routine-focused parenting on positive affect supports the view that early environmental structuring (via sleep) is linked to neurobiological and emotional regulatory processes.

From a clinical perspective, the authors posit that sleep routines should be addressed within the context of emotional development rather than solely as behaviour management. They suggest that interventions should balance structure with sensitivity, as overly rigid or anxiety-based structuring may lead to less favourable emotional outcomes. The paper concludes that infant emotional development is associated not only with parenting practices but also with the organisation of daily routines, urging a biopsychosocial and developmental framework for understanding these interactions. The authors note that future longitudinal studies are required to clarify the direction and causal nature of these relationships.