LAUSR

Maternal caregivers of young children with a chronic illness, like bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), often report increased levels of stress and depressive symptoms, as well as poor quality of sleep. Caregiving duties are time-intensive and extend into the nighttime hours. The purpose of this study is to examine sleep, depressive symptoms, and stress in maternal caregivers of young children with BPD, as well as determine if depressive symptoms is a mediating variable between sleep quality and stress. 61 maternal caregivers (mean age 29 yrs) of young children with BPD (mean age 14 mos) were recruited. Mothers had no reported history of a sleep disorder, and had a child diagnosed with BPD. The child had to have been home from the hospital for at least two months, and not require a ventilator or tracheotomy. Maternal caregivers were asked to complete a demographic questionnaire, as well as the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D). Upon completion, 56.9% of the sample was single, 67.2% were African American, and child had been home from hospital a mean of 8 mos. Over two thirds (67.2%) of the sample reported sleeping 6 or fewer hours a night, with a mean PSQI score of 7.6. Significant correlations were found between PSQI and CESD (; r=.546; p=.000), as well as PSQI and stress (r=.284; p=.031). Depressive symptoms were not found to mediate the relationship between sleep quality and stress, however, sleep quality was a significant predictor of stress (t=2.171; p=.034) and depressive symptoms (t=4.876; p=.000). The majority of maternal caregivers of children with BPD reported insufficient and poor quality of sleep, which may affect their stress and depressive symptoms. Healthcare providers need to discuss the importance of sleep with caregivers, and ensure the child’s care schedule allows for sleep during the nighttime hours.