Effects of Coparenting Quality, Stress, and Sleep Parenting on Sleep and Obesity Among Latinx Children: A Path Analysis

Introduction: We sought to examine the associations among parent-level constructs, sleep-related parenting practices, and child sleep in Latinx families. Method: A quantitative study was conducted with 101 Latinx parents of children aged 2-5 years. Key variables that were examined included parental stress, coparenting quality, bedtime routine consistency, parent-child sleep interactions, and child's sleep duration. Results: Path analysis results indicated that (1) parent stress had a direct effect on child sleep duration (p=.005) and was mediated by parent-child sleep interactions (p=.021); (2) coparenting quality had a direct effect on child sleep duration (p=.001) and was mediated by bedtime routine consistency (p=.010); and (3) bedtime routine consistency had an indirect effect on child body mass index percentile and was mediated by sleep duration (p=.049). Discussion: Coparenting quality and parental stress may be important constructs to consider when designing interventions to improve Latinx child sleep duration.