University of Houston - Clear Lake

An intervention to decrease bed sharing.

Purpose: There are a significant number (12.8%) of children who share their parent�s bed every night (bed-sharing). Parents will try a variety of unsuccessful methods to reduce this behavior. This single-case-design experiment examined an intervention to decrease bed-sharing in 2-6 year old children. Methods: Three sessions were held with the participant�s parent(s). At the first session, bed-sharing history was gathered, and parents were instructed to collect baseline data for two weeks on a workbook and submit it daily using an online form. At the second session, conducted two weeks after the first, parents were instructed to employ the intervention and continue submitting data. At the third session, after two weeks of intervention, parents were interviewed, and the need for continued support was evaluated. Intervention: The intervention uses a fading procedure. Population: We anticipate that the average age of the 6 participants (3 boys and 3 girls) will be 3.5 years of age with 4 of the children being Caucasian, 1 child being Hispanic, and 1 child being African American. We anticipate parents will be highly motivated to change the bed-sharing behavior of their child. Anticipated average of duration and frequency of bed-sharing will be 4.5 nights per week with most nights ranging from 8 to 9 hours. Results: It is anticipated that children will begin sleeping in their own beds 6 or more nights per week within 20 days of employing the intervention. Parents will be satisfied with the intervention. Conclusions: This study is a first step in developing an intervention to help parents decrease bed-sharing with their child. The intervention was acceptable to parents, and they expressed no regrets of their participation. Given the preliminary results, it will be essential to replicate the findings and disseminate the results to those that will be influential in the lives of parents.