Implementation of Behavioral Interventions for Infant Sleep Problems in Real-World Settings

Objectives To compare the real-world frequency, timing, duration, difficulty, and helpfulness of 3 infant Behavioral Sleep Intervention (BSI) approaches: Unmodified Extinction, Modified Extinction, and Parental Presence and to examine the effectiveness and safety of these approaches by comparing infant sleep, parent sleep, daytime sleepiness, depression, and parent-infant bonding between parents who had and had not implemented these interventions. Study design Participants were 2090 parents (75% mothers, 79% White/Caucasian) of US infants (49% girls) aged 3-18 months (M = 9.1, SD = 4.1). Parents completed online questionnaires regarding their infant's sleep, their own sleep, daytime sleepiness, depression levels, and parent-infant bonding. Infant sleep was assessed via objective-albeit exploratory-autovideosomnography data obtained from the 14 days prior to survey completion. Results Sixty-four percent of parents reported implementing BSIs. The average age at intervention was 5.3 months (SD = 2.6). Unmodified and Modified Extinction were rated as significantly more difficult to implement compared with Parental Presence but also as more helpful, shorter, and quicker to show improvements. Infant nighttime sleep was longer and more consolidated in the Unmodified and Modified Extinction groups compared with the Parental Presence and non-BSI groups. No differences were found between BSI groups in parent sleep, sleepiness, depression, or parent-infant bonding. Conclusions Implementation of BSIs outside clinical settings is pervasive and occurs earlier than generally recommended. Unmodified and Modified Extinction were associated with longer and more consolidated infant sleep. Despite concerns regarding the potential harm of BSIs, implementation of these approaches was not linked with negative outcomes, providing additional evidence for their safety and effectiveness.