Elaine F. Martin
Southern Connecticut State University, USA
Title: Content Analysis: Parental Perceptions of Living with a Child with a Behavioral Sleep Problem
Biography
Biography: Elaine F. Martin
Abstract
A qualitative content analysis was conducted on an open ended question to parents of children who perceived that their child age 1 to 3 had a behavioral sleep problem. Parents were responding to an online survey regarding toddlers with behavioral sleep problems and assessed using the Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire - Expanded. Parents were asked what it was like to live with a child with a behavioral sleep problem. 115 parent respondents were included writing between one line and 4 pages of responses. Content analysis by Krippendorf’s method was utilized to examine thematic unit and themes in the data that were recurrent in the answers of the parental responses. Content analysis results revealed 8 significant recurring level one themes expressing various levels of distress and denial by the parent when dealing with their child. There were 3 recurring level 2 themes expressing the negative effects on parental relationships, parent-child relationships and family systems disruption. These were further distilled to one overarching level 3 theme expressing that their lives were chaotic and the quality of their lives were adversely affected by living with a child with a behavioral sleep problem.