The relationship between depression and anxiety levels of mothers and sleeping habits of children

The aim of this study was determined to examine the relationship between the depression and anxiety level of the mother and the sleep habits of the child aged 6-11. The sample of this cross-sectional study consists of 511 mothers who participated in the online survey announced via social media. Sociodemographic Form, Child Sleep Habits Questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory and Beck Anxiety Inventory were used as data collection tools. Data were evaluated using Pearson Chi-Square, Mann Whitney-U, Spearman Correlation Coefficient and Binary Logistic Regression Analysis. The results of the study showed that there is a significant difference between the presence of sleep problems in the child according to the mother and the presence of sleep problems in the child according to the child sleep habits questionnaire. It has been determined that sleep problems are more common in children who do not have their own bed, who received psychiatric/psychological help in the past or present, who are younger, whose mother is younger, whose mother has less education years, whose mother had a psychological or physical illness during pregnancy or after birth. It was determined that the mother's depression and anxiety level and the father's education level were predictors of sleep problems in the child. In the light of this information, it is thought that it is important for mothers to be aware of sleep in order to detect sleep problems in children and to receive psychological/psychiatric support for the solution of their own mental problems considering the effect of their own mental problems on children's sleep problems.