Parental perceptions of the effectiveness of graduated extinction in reducing infant night-wakings

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to look at a community sample to determine parents’ use of graduated extinction and their perceptions of its effectiveness. Background: Infant sleep behaviours, particularly night-wakings, have been identified as one of the most common concerns of parents. The popularity of books and articles providing advice to parents to help their infants sleep through the night suggests that many parents are using graduated extinction to manage these night-waking behaviours. However, there is a paucity of research on parents’ use of sleep management strategies outside of clinical/research settings. Methods: In this internet-based study, we surveyed 411 Canadian parents regarding their use of graduated extinction with their 6–12-month-old infants. Results: Almost half of the parents surveyed reported using graduated extinction with their infants, and the majority of these parents began using it before their infants were 6 months old. Our results indicate that parents in the community are experiencing considerably less success with graduated extinction than parents in clinical/research setting, with almost half reporting no reduction in infant night-wakings. Significant predictors of success were parental cognitions regarding stress and support. Conclusion: Sleep clinicians, physicians, and parent educators should be aware that parents seeking their assistance are likely to have tried sleep management strategies on their own, and this may influence their confidence in future success as well as their willingness to commit to controlled crying in particular.

Keywords:

• night wakings
• infant sleep problems
• graduated extinction
• sleep interventions