Parents, preschoolers, and napping: the development and psychometric properties of two Nap Belief Scales in two independent samples

Abstract

Introduction: Most children cease napping between 2 and 5 years old. Little is known about the predictors of this cessation. Parents' sleep-related beliefs aid in understanding children's nighttime sleep behaviors, but few index daytime sleep beliefs. Methods: Two measures of parents' napping beliefs were developed and evaluated-the Parents' Nap Beliefs Scale (14 items) and the Reasons Children Nap Scale (19 items). Canadian parents of 1–5-year-old children completed these questionnaires and other sleep-related measures in independent pilot (n = 201) and replication (n = 702) samples. In the replication sample, a subsample of parents also completed 1–3 weeks of daily sleep diaries. The samples were representative of the Canadian population by ethnicity and region. Results: In both samples, both measures demonstrated strong construct validity, convergent and divergent validity, and internal consistency. The Parents' Nap Beliefs Scale was composed of two factors: (a) Positive Beliefs and (b) Negative Beliefs about napping. The Reasons Children Nap Scale was composed of two higher order factors and five lower order factors: (a) Encouragement Reasons (Child related; Parent related) and (b) Discouragement Reasons (Child prefers not to nap; Child functions well without a nap; Scheduling). Discussion: Future research should (a) test these scales as longitudinal determinants of children's nap behavior and cessation, (b) evaluate parental Nap Beliefs in non-Western cultures, and (c) adapt these scales for use with childcare providers.