Question

What areas need to be assessed when an infant has a sleeping problem?

Answer 1

The areas need to be assessed are

(1) the biological status of the infant; (2) the physical and mental health of the parents; (3) the parents’ knowledge about childrearing in general and sleep in particular; (4) the external environment that shapes and constrains parenting; (5) the harmony of the parental dyad; (6) the internal representations of parental expectations, fantasies, and feelings about the infant; and (7) the status of parent-infant interaction. The sleep problem must be assessed in the context of the family’s entire functioning as a system.