Predictors of Primary School Children’s Sleep Habits: Child and Parent Anxiety and Parents’ Emotion Regulation Skills

Abstract

In this study, using a correlational research design, the predictive role of children’s and parents’ anxiety levels and parents’ emotion regulation skills on children’s sleep habits was examined. The research was conducted online during the fall semester of the 2024–2025 academic year with parents of primary school children (N = 220); 88% of the participants were mothers (n = 194) and 12% were fathers (n = 26). Participants were recruited via convenience sampling. Data collected through the convenience sampling procedure were obtained using a Personal Information Form, the Child Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ), the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale—Parent Version (SCAS-Parent), the Parent Emotion Regulation Scale (PERS), and the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). Pearson correlation analysis was used to determine the direction and strength of relationships among variables, and stepwise multiple linear regression analysis was employed to identify the predictive effects of parents’ and children’s anxiety levels and parents’ emotion regulation characteristics on children’s sleep habits. The findings indicated that both children’s and parents’ anxiety levels, as well as parents’ emotion regulation skills, were significantly associated with children’s sleep habits. The results were interpreted in the framework in the context of previous research; study limitations were identified, and recommendations were offered for practice and future research.

Keywords

• Primary school children
• children’s sleep habits
• child anxiety
• parental anxiety
• parental emotion-regulation skills.

İlkokul Çocuklarının Uyku Alışkanlıklarının Yordayıcıları: Çocuk ve Ebeveyn Kaygısı ile Ebeveynlerin Duygu Düzenleme Becerileri

Öz

Bu çalışmada, ilişkisel tarama modeliyle, çocukların ve ebeveynlerin kaygı düzeyleri ile ebeveynlerin duygu düzenleme becerilerinin, çocukların uyku alışkanlıkları üzerindeki yordayıcı rolü incelenmiştir. Araştırma, 2024–2025 eğitim-öğretim yılı güz döneminde ilkokula devam eden çocukların ebeveynleriyle (n=220) çevrimiçi yürütülmüş olup, katılımcıların %88'ini anneler (n=194), %12'sini ise babalar (n=26) oluşturmaktadır. Katılımcıların belirlenebilmesi için araştırmada kolay ulaşılabilir örnekleme yöntemi tercih edilmiştir. Bu yöntemle elde edilen veriler; Kişisel Bilgi Formu, Çocuk Uyku Alışkanlıkları Anketi (ÇUAA), Spence Çocuklar için Kaygı Ölçeği–Ebeveyn Formu (SÇKÖ), Ebeveyn Duygu Düzenleme Ölçeği (EDDÖ) ve Beck Anksiyete Ölçeği (BAÖ) aracılığıyla elde edilmiştir. Değişkenler arasındaki ilişkilerin yön ve düzeyini belirlemek için Pearson korelasyon analizi; ebeveynlerin ve çocukların kaygı düzeyleri ile ebeveynlerin duygu düzenleme özelliklerinin çocukların uyku alışkanlıkları üzerindeki yordayıcı etkisini saptamak için ise aşamalı (stepwise) çoklu doğrusal regresyon analizi uygulanmıştır. Bulgular, hem çocukların hem de ebeveynlerin kaygı düzeyleri ile ebeveynlerin duygu düzenleme becerilerinin çocukların uyku alışkanlıkları ile anlamlı ilişkiler gösterdiğini ortaya koymuştur. Elde edilen sonuçlar ilgili alanyazın çerçevesinde tartışılmış, çalışmanın sınırlılıkları belirtilmiş ve uygulama ile gelecekteki araştırmalar için öneriler sunulmuştur.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• İlkokul çocukları
• çocuk uyku alışkanlıkları
• çocuk kaygısı
• ebeveyn kaygısı
• ebeveyn duygu düzenleme becerileri

Kaynakça

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