0838 Sleep Hygiene in Mexican American Toddlers: Bedtime Screen Use and the Role of Maternal Beliefs and Self-efficacy

Abstract Introduction Good sleep hygiene includes restricting screen use in the hour before bedtime. Despite this, bedtime screen use starts for many in early childhood. To inform the design of interventions aiming to promote quality sleep, a better understanding of parental conceptualizations about their children’s bedtime screen use is needed. We evaluated whether maternal beliefs about bedtime screen use and self-efficacy to limit bedtime screen use are related to toddler screen use before bedtime in Mexican American families. Methods This study used data from a larger study enrolling Mexican American families with toddlers (15-26 months old) recruited from a federally qualified health system. Participants were asked how much they agreed that using a screen device before bed helps little children sleep better (belief) and how confident they were about limiting their toddler’s bedtime screen use (self-efficacy). Screen use before bedtime was measured via a 7-day diary completed by mothers, resulting in a count of nights the child used a screen device in the hour before bedtime. We used multiple regression to evaluate whether maternal beliefs and self-efficacy were associated with toddlers’ bedtime screen use, adjusting for child age, and maternal education and employment status. Results Participants (n=286) were on average 31.4 years old (SD=5.9) and 73% reported ≤ high school degree. Mean child age was 21.7 (SD=3.1) months. Over one-third (36%, n=103) of children used a screen device in the hour before bedtime at least 4 nights per week. Mothers’ stronger beliefs that screen use before bed helps with sleep (Incidence rate ratio (IRR)=1.22, 95% CI 1.06-1.41) and mothers’ lower self-efficacy to limit bedtime use (IRR=0.79, 95% CI 0.70-0.89) were associated with greater toddler bedtime screen use. Conclusion Maternal beliefs and self-efficacy regarding limiting screen use at bedtime should be considered in interventions addressing toddler sleep hygiene in this population. Support (if any) Research reported in this publication was supported by NIH/NINR (R01NR017605, PI: Thompson) and NIH/NCATS Colorado CTSA Grant Number UM1 TR004399. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.