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Résumé (français)

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Résumé (anglais)

Most children cease napping between 2- and 5-years-old. Little is known about the predictors or outcomes related to this cessation, or the interrelation of different components of nap behavior. Four empirical studies were conducted to investigate the developmental importance of napping among preschool children. Studies 1 and 2 used a large, longitudinal sample of Canadian children to investigate the predictors (Study 1) and outcomes (Study 2) related to early nap cessation. Early nap cessation was defined as stopping daytime sleep before three years old. In Study 1, parents reported on their own, child, and family functioning at two timepoints (0-1 years-old and 2-3 years-old). At 2-3 years-old, ~11% of children had ceased napping. Early nap cessation was predicted by demographic (e.g., female sex), perinatal (e.g., birthweight ? 2500 grams), developmental (e.g., more developmental milestones achieved), and sleep-related (i.e., longer nighttime sleep duration) variables. Study 2 presented the evaluation of behavioral and language outcomes related to early nap cessation. After controlling for the predictors identified in Study 1, and other demographic predictors of these outcomes (e.g., income, parental education), early nap cessation predicted higher receptive language and lower anxiety at 4-to-5-years-old. Studies 3 and 4 used representative cross-sectional samples. Study 3 presented the development and psychometric properties of two scales of parents’ nap beliefs – The Parents’ Nap Beliefs Scale and the Reasons Children Nap Scale. In independent pilot (N = 201) and replication samples (N = 702) these scales demonstrated excellent reliability and validity. Study 4 presented an empirical approach to classifying nap behavior (i.e., Latent Profile Analyses) and a prediction of nap behavior using parental beliefs and previously established correlates of nap behavior. Nap behavior was associated with parental beliefs, parents’ own nap behaviors, family functioning, and child nighttime sleep problems. Nap cessation appears to be a developmentally normative process for Canadian preschool children. This process is complex and marked by high intra- and inter-child variability. This complexity is best understood using a socioecological approach which accounts for developmental, demographic, child-parent, and child-environmental factors. Key future directions include replicating these results in non-North American countries and implementing more longitudinal studies.