# Intimate partner psychological violence and children’s sleep difficulties up to 5 years of age: an ELFE birth cohort

## TL;DR

This study finds that psychological violence between partners is linked to sleep problems in young children, with girls being more affected in some cases.

## Contribution

The study identifies specific patterns of psychological violence and their associations with children's sleep difficulties over time.

## Key findings

- Increasing and persistent psychological violence is linked to more sleep onset difficulties in children.
- Persistent psychological violence is associated with more nighttime awakenings, especially in girls.
- Girls show stronger associations between persistent violence and sleep disruptions compared to boys.

## Abstract

To examine the association between intimate partner psychological violence (P-IPV) from before pregnancy to 2 years after the child’s birth and child’s sleep patterns, i.e. sleep onset difficulty (SOD), nighttime awakenings (NA), and nighttime sleep duration (NSD) between 2 and 5 years of child’s age. Data come from the population-based French birth ELFE cohort launched in 2011. P-IPV was assessed before and during pregnancy, at 2 months and 2 years post-partum. Children’s sleep patterns were measured at 2, 3, and 5 years of age. Group-based trajectory modelling was used to identify trajectories of P-IPV and each child’s sleep patterns. Associations between P-IPV and children’s sleep trajectories were assessed by weighted multivariate logistic regressions. Five P-IPV trajectories were identified: minimal (64%), prenatal (14%), decreasing (9%), increasing (8%), and persistent (5%). Two trajectories of SOD (few 65% and many 35%), three trajectories of NA (few 49%, decreasing 24%, and many 23%), and three trajectories of NSD (short 21%, medium 56%, and long 23%) were identified. About 9513, 9512, and 9499 children were included in comparative analyses, respectively, focused on SOD, NA, and NSD. Increasing and persistent P-IPV trajectories were both associated with the trajectory of many SODs [odds ratio (OR) = 1.53, 95% confident interval (CI) = 1.24–1.91; and OR = 1.71, 95% CI = 1.31–2.22, respectively] and the trajectory of many NA (OR = 1.66, 95% CI = 1.29–2.13); and (OR = 1.95, 95% CI = 1.42–2.69, respectively). Associations between persistent P-IPV and decreasing and many NA were significant among girls (OR = 1.76, 95% CI = 1.12–2.75 and OR = 2.27, 95% CI = 1.39–3.71, respectively), but not among boys. Family interventions in response to IPV should pay particular attention to sleep patterns of children exposed to IPV.