Association of mother-child relationship with sleep quality and executive function among preschool children

CUI Xiaochen; HE Haiyan; ZHU Min; LI Ruoyu; WU Jun; WAN Yuhui

doi:10.16835/j.cnki.1000-9817.2025256

Volume 46 Issue 8

Aug. 2025

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CUI Xiaochen, HE Haiyan, ZHU Min, LI Ruoyu, WU Jun, WAN Yuhui. Association of mother-child relationship with sleep quality and executive function among preschool children[J]. CHINESE JOURNAL OF SCHOOL HEALTH, 2025, 46(8): 1166-1169. doi: 10.16835/j.cnki.1000-9817.2025256

Citation:

CUI Xiaochen, HE Haiyan, ZHU Min, LI Ruoyu, WU Jun, WAN Yuhui. Association of mother-child relationship with sleep quality and executive function among preschool children[J]. CHINESE JOURNAL OF SCHOOL HEALTH, 2025, 46(8): 1166-1169. doi: 10.16835/j.cnki.1000-9817.2025256

Citation:

CUI Xiaochen, HE Haiyan, ZHU Min, LI Ruoyu, WU Jun, WAN Yuhui. Association of mother-child relationship with sleep quality and executive function among preschool children[J]. CHINESE JOURNAL OF SCHOOL HEALTH, 2025, 46(8): 1166-1169. doi: 10.16835/j.cnki.1000-9817.2025256

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Association of mother-child relationship with sleep quality and executive function among preschool children

doi: 10.16835/j.cnki.1000-9817.2025256

1.
Department of Child Healthcare, Wuhu Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Wuhu 241000, Anhui Province, China

Received Date: 2025-02-20
Rev Recd Date: 2025-04-11

Available Online: 2025-08-30

Publish Date: 2025-08-25

Abstract

Abstract

Objective To investigate the mediating role of children's sleep quality in the association between mother-child relationship and the executive function of preschool children, providing a reference for promoting the development of the executive function of preschool children. Methods A stratified cluster sampling method was used to select 842 preschoolers from 12 kindergartens in Wuhu City, Anhui Province in December 2021 as the subjects of the first follow-up study with follow-up every six months thereafter. Finally, 746 children were included in the study after 3 follow-up. Spearman correlation analysis was used to explore the associations among mother-child relationship, sleep quality and executive function in preschool children. Bootstrap program and PROCESS software were applied to test the mediating effect of sleep quality in the association between mother-child relationship and the executive function of preschool children. Results Conflictual mother-child relationship was positively correlated with the total score of executive function, as well as scores of inhibitory, shifting, emotional control, working memory, and organizational planning (r=0.40, 0.37, 0.36, 0.41, 0.38, 0.34, all P < 0.05). Dependent mother-child relationship was positively correlated with the total score of executive function, as well as scores of inhibitory, shifting, emotional control, working memory, and organizational planning (r=0.23, 0.20, 0.21, 0.22, 0.22, 0.19, all P < 0.05). Sleep quality was positively correlated with the total executive function score (r=0.27, P < 0.01). After adjusting for confounding factors, sleep quality played a partial mediating role in the associations between dependent and conflictual mother-child relationships and executive function, the mediating effects were 19.40% and 11.22% respectively. Conclusions Sleep quality plays a mediating role in the association between mother-child relationship and the executive function of preschool children. Improving sleep quality in the early stage can promote the executive function of preschool children.
- Parent-child relations,
- Sleep,
- Executive function,
- Mental health,
- Child, preschool

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References(23)

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