Associations between bedtime and nighttime parenting and infant cortisol in the first year

Lauren E. Philbrook; Douglas M. Teti

doi:10.1002/dev.21442

Associations between bedtime and nighttime parenting and infant cortisol in the first year

Lauren E. Philbrook, Douglas M. Teti

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

16 Scopus citations

Abstract

We examined how maternal care within the bedtime and nighttime contexts influences infant cortisol levels and patterning. Eighty-two mothers (M_age = 29.4 years) and infants participated in a longitudinal study when infants were 3, 6, and 9 months old. At each time point, bedtime and nighttime parenting were recorded and infant cortisol at bedtime and the following morning was analyzed. Multilevel model analyses showed that infants had lower cortisol levels when mothers were more emotionally available at bedtime, and infants whose mothers responded more often to their non-distressed cues had lower cortisol levels on average. Less co-sleeping and more maternal responses to infant distress were linked to healthier cortisol patterning. By shedding light on parenting qualities and behaviors that influence infant cortisol, these results indicate avenues for intervention and suggest the utility of studying parenting in infant sleep contexts.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	1087-1100
Number of pages	14
Journal	Developmental psychobiology
Volume	58
Issue number	8
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.21442
State	Published - Dec 1 2016

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Developmental and Educational Psychology
Developmental Neuroscience
Developmental Biology
Behavioral Neuroscience

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10.1002/dev.21442

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title = "Associations between bedtime and nighttime parenting and infant cortisol in the first year",

abstract = "We examined how maternal care within the bedtime and nighttime contexts influences infant cortisol levels and patterning. Eighty-two mothers (Mage = 29.4 years) and infants participated in a longitudinal study when infants were 3, 6, and 9 months old. At each time point, bedtime and nighttime parenting were recorded and infant cortisol at bedtime and the following morning was analyzed. Multilevel model analyses showed that infants had lower cortisol levels when mothers were more emotionally available at bedtime, and infants whose mothers responded more often to their non-distressed cues had lower cortisol levels on average. Less co-sleeping and more maternal responses to infant distress were linked to healthier cortisol patterning. By shedding light on parenting qualities and behaviors that influence infant cortisol, these results indicate avenues for intervention and suggest the utility of studying parenting in infant sleep contexts.",

author = "Philbrook, {Lauren E.} and Teti, {Douglas M.}",

note = "Funding Information: This investigation is part of Project SIESTA, a NICHD-funded longitudinal study of parenting, infant sleep, and infant development (R01-HD052809), awarded to the second author. We would like to thank the families who participated in this study, the SIESTA staff who have assisted in data collection and coding, and Corey Whitesell, Cori Reed, and Renee Stewart, who have coordinated this project. The authors declare no conflicts of interest. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.",

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Associations between bedtime and nighttime parenting and infant cortisol in the first year

Abstract

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

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