Chaotic living conditions and sleep problems associated with children's responses to academic challenge.

Full Abstract

The ecology of economic disadvantage includes chaotic living conditions that may disrupt children's regulatory functioning and undermine mastery oriented responses to challenge. The present study examined chaotic living conditions, sleep problems, and responses to academic challenge for 96 economically disadvantaged children enrolled in a Head Start preschool. Caregiver interviews provided information regarding chaotic living conditions of residential crowding, noise, and family instability, as well as child sleep problems. Tasks individually administered to children provided measures of responses to academic challenge. Chaotic living conditions statistically predicted helpless/hopeless responses to academic challenge, and sleep problems partially mediated this relationship. Implications concern pathways of ecological risk and diversity in the school functioning of economically disadvantaged children. Copyright 2008 APA, all rights reserved.

Author information

Author/s: Brown, Eleanor D (ED); Low, Christine M (CM);

Affiliation: Peoples Building Room 30, Department of Psychology, West Chester University of Pennsylvania, West Chester, PA 19383, USA. ebrown(-atsign-)wcupa.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Journal of family psychology : JFP : journal of the Division of Family Psychology of the American Psychological Association (Division 43) (J Fam Psychol), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2008-Dec; vol 22 (issue 6) : pp 920-3

Dates: Created 2008/12/23; Completed 2009/02/23;

PMID: 19102613, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 3/9/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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