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Keywords

sleep interventions, infants, mothers, mood

Abstract

Introduction: Demographic and social factors, including maternal age, number of children, and income, may influence the success of sleep training approaches for infants based on differences in supports available and varying levels of maternal self-efficacy/confidence. This study investigated whether maternal income, age, and number of children moderated the effect of three infant behavioral sleep interventions on maternal sleep and mental health.

Methods: Mothers of infants (ages 5-10 months) were randomly assigned to basic sleep hygiene control, graduated extinction, or responsive parenting interventions to help improve the sleep of their infant. Mothers completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, PROMIS Sleep Disturbance Short Form, Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale, and the Postpartum Specific Anxiety Scale at baseline and following the two-week intervention implementation period. Repeated-measures general-linear-models were conducted to evaluate change in maternal sleep/mental health over time while evaluating the between-subject factor of experimental condition; additional between-subject factors included maternal age, income, and number of children.

Results: Fifty-nine mothers (M age=27.2(4.10); M income=68,152.42(SD=54044.30); 100% female; 85% White) and their infants (M age=6.87 months (SD=1.62); 54% female) completed the study. Among lower-income mothers, responsive parenting and graduated extinction significantly reduced depression symptoms compared to control (p=.016 and .042, respectively); income did not moderate improvements on maternal sleep quality, sleep disturbance, or anxiety (p>0.05). Maternal age moderated rates of improvement in sleep disturbance over time (p=.042), where younger mothers receiving responsive parenting experienced greater reduction of sleep disturbance (compared to the other sleep conditions). Similar trends were noted in improvement in depression (p=.052), with younger mothers experiencing the greatest rate of improvement following responsive intervention. Number of children did not moderate treatment response for maternal sleep quality, sleep disturbance, depression, and anxiety (p>0.05).

Conclusions: Mothers who are younger and of lower income may experience greater benefits in sleep and mood when engaging in a responsive-parenting sleep intervention compared to more traditional graduated extinction methods or sleep hygiene approaches. These findings may reflect differences in maternal self-efficacy or tolerance with distress in these populations. Future research should evaluate how parental confidence, caregiving beliefs, and perceived feasibility serve as mechanisms that underly these differential intervention responses.

Document Type

Poster

Publication Date

2026-04-21

Language

English

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Psychology

University Standing at Time of Publication

Senior

Maternal Age and Income Moderate the Effects of Infant Sleep Interventions on Maternal Sleep and Mood

Included in

Psychology Commons

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