Seeking professional help to improve infant sleep is typically based on parental beliefs that their child has a sleep problem. Such perceptions may reflect not only the child’s actual sleep, but also parental behaviors and emotions. This study examined which objective infant sleep measures and parent factors are most strongly associated with perceived infant sleep problems, and whether these associations differed by parent gender.
Parents of 3158 infants aged 1–18 months (M = 8.4 months, SD = 4.5; 46 % girls) participated in this cross- sectional study. Infant sleep and parental crib visits were assessed using auto-videosomnography. Perceived sleep problems, parent depression, daytime sleepiness, cry tolerance, and sociodemographic characteristics were assessed via an online survey. Associations were analyzed using generalized estimating equations and dominance analysis. Parental nighttime crib visits were the strongest correlate of perceived infant sleep problems (Wald = 105.88,p < 0.001): each additional visit increased the odds of perceiving a problem by 18 %. Other significant correlates included lower parental cry tolerance, greater depressive symptoms, shorter infant sleep duration, higher parental sleepiness, breastfeeding, higher education, and earlier infant sleep offset times. Gender-stratified analyses indicated that infant sleep duration and parental sleepiness were associated with problem perception among mothers only, while cry tolerance was a stronger predictor for fathers.
Parental perceptions of infant sleep problems are shaped more by parents’ behaviors and emotions than by infant sleep patterns. Findings highlight the importance of supporting parental well-being and involving both mothers and fathers in clinical and research efforts targeting early sleep concerns.