Marriage problems can lead to sleep problems down the road for babies, according to a new study from researchers at Oregon State University.
"The quality of the parents relationships can influence the quality of the parent-child relationship and vice versa," Dr. Anne Mannering, study leader and professor at Oregon State University, told MyHealthNewsDaily.
Mannering and a team of researchers studied over 350 families, all of which had babies who were nine months old. The researches conducted initial interviews with the parents in order to get a better understanding of their current marital status. The parents also answered questions about the sleep patterns of their babies. The team then conducted follow-up interviews with the parents when the babies were 18 months old, asking them the same questions they were asked at the onset of the study.
“We found that marital instability when infants are 9 months of age can predict sleep issues when at 18 months of age but we didn't find the opposite,” Mannering told CNN. “Sleep patterns did not predict marital instability later on.”
All of the babies involved in the study were adopted, to rule out any genetic links between them and their parents that could influence or cause the sleep problems, and none of the babies had any medical conditions. The researchers also found that their findings held true even after taking other factors into account, such as birth order and parent's anxiety.
The researchers published their findings in the Child Development journal and hope to continue their research to determine if sleep problems stemming from marital issues last past the 24-month mark.
