A Qualitative Study on Korean Mothers’ Dysfunctional Beliefs and Meaning Structures Regarding Their Experiences With Infant Sleep Problems

Abstract

Objectives: One of the causes of infant sleep problems is excessive parental intervention at bedtime based on parental dysfunctional beliefs about infant sleep, which varies depending on the culture. This study aimed to identify the content of dysfunctional beliefs related to infant sleep problems among Korean mothers.Methods: Participants were 10 Korean mothers with infants aged 6 to 36 months. In-depth interviews were conducted to identify the infant sleep problems being experienced and the content of accompanying attitudes and dysfunctional beliefs. Individual in-depth interviews were conducted with the researcher based on a semi-structured manual. A qualitative analysis to identify dysfunctional beliefs was conducted based on phenomenological methods.Results: The meaning structures of dysfunctional beliefs held by Korean mothers who experienced infant sleep problems were divided into six categories, namely, “unable to fall asleep without the mother,” “various inferences about the cause of sleep problems,” “mother’s effort and sacrifice are required,” “concerns about child development,” “experience of fatigue and negative emotions,” and “mother’s experience of sleep disturbance.”Conclusions: Korean mothers reported similar results as previous studies in that they implemented strategies that interfered with infant sleep based on dysfunctional beliefs about their infant’s sleep problems. These behaviors subsequently increased the possibility of maintaining sleep problems for their infants and themselves.