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Daily Dynamics of Parental Sleep Quality and Parenting in Chinese Families of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

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Title: Daily Dynamics of Parental Sleep Quality and Parenting in Chinese Families of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Language: English
Authors: Hui Wang (ORCID 0000-0002-0011-8899), Peiyuan Zhao, Xiaoyi Hu (ORCID 0000-0002-6936-4799), Zhuo Rachel Han
Source: Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 2025 55(12):4380-4389.
Availability: Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://link.springer.com/
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 10
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Descriptors: Sleep, Parents, Stress Variables, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Life Satisfaction, Young Children, Foreign Countries, Intervention
Geographic Terms: China
DOI: 10.1007/s10803-025-06806-y
ISSN: 0162-3257
1573-3432
Abstract: High sleep quality in parents has been linked to positive parenting outcomes, including reduced parenting stress and increased life satisfaction. However, the daily dynamics of these factors remain underexplored, especially in families of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study examined the reciprocal relationships between daily sleep quality, parenting stress, and life satisfaction among parents of children with ASD. Seventy-five Chinese parents (M = 36.21 years, SD = 3.77 years; 57 mothers) of children with ASD (M = 5.43 years, SD = 1.56 years; 67 boys) participated in a 14-day diary study. Parents reported their subjective sleep quality, parenting stress, and life satisfaction at the same time each day across 7 survey questions. Dynamic structural equation modeling revealed two significant autoregressive effects: parents' perceptions of parenting stress and life satisfaction on a given day tended to persist into the following day. Moreover, better-than-average sleep quality on a given night predicted lower parenting stress and higher life satisfaction the next day. However, daytime fluctuations in parenting stress and life satisfaction did not influence sleep quality that night. These preliminary findings suggest a unidirectional impact of sleep quality on perceived parenting stress and life satisfaction among these parents. Target interventions aimed at improving sleep quality, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) or structured sleep hygiene programs, may be essential for reducing parenting stress and enhancing life satisfaction in parents of children with ASD. These interventions should prioritize promoting consistent sleep routines and managing stress-related sleep disruptions.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1492345
Database: ERIC
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  Value: <anid>AN0189168316;aut01dec.25;2025Nov10.06:31;v2.2.500</anid> <title id="AN0189168316-1">Daily Dynamics of Parental Sleep Quality and Parenting in Chinese Families of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder </title> <p>High sleep quality in parents has been linked to positive parenting outcomes, including reduced parenting stress and increased life satisfaction. However, the daily dynamics of these factors remain underexplored, especially in families of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study examined the reciprocal relationships between daily sleep quality, parenting stress, and life satisfaction among parents of children with ASD. Seventy-five Chinese parents (M = 36.21 years, SD = 3.77 years; 57 mothers) of children with ASD (M = 5.43 years, SD = 1.56 years; 67 boys) participated in a 14-day diary study. Parents reported their subjective sleep quality, parenting stress, and life satisfaction at the same time each day across 7 survey questions. Dynamic structural equation modeling revealed two significant autoregressive effects: parents' perceptions of parenting stress and life satisfaction on a given day tended to persist into the following day. Moreover, better-than-average sleep quality on a given night predicted lower parenting stress and higher life satisfaction the next day. However, daytime fluctuations in parenting stress and life satisfaction did not influence sleep quality that night. hese preliminary findings suggest a unidirectional impact of sleep quality on perceived parenting stress and life satisfaction among these parents. Target interventions aimed at improving sleep quality, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) or structured sleep hygiene programs, may be essential for reducing parenting stress and enhancing life satisfaction in parents of children with ASD. These interventions should prioritize promoting consistent sleep routines and managing stress-related sleep disruptions.</p> <p>Keywords: Autism spectrum disorders; Parents; Sleep quality; Parenting stress; Life satisfaction; Daily dynamics; Psychology and Cognitive Sciences Psychology</p> <p>Copyright comment Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.</p> <hd id="AN0189168316-2">Introduction</hd> <p>Parenting a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a challenging experience that often leads to significant parenting stress and reduced life satisfaction (Hayes & Watson, [<reflink idref="bib22" id="ref1">22</reflink>]; Lu et al., [<reflink idref="bib29" id="ref2">29</reflink>]). For Chinese parents, these challenges can be further compounded by cultural and societal factors (Liu et al., [<reflink idref="bib27" id="ref3">27</reflink>]; Chan & Lam, [<reflink idref="bib6" id="ref4">6</reflink>]). Despite the promotion of inclusive education policies, Chinese families of children with ASD often lack sufficient formal support, particularly in rural areas, which makes the parenting experience more stressful (Liu et al., [<reflink idref="bib27" id="ref5">27</reflink>]). Additionally, societal pressures and stigma may discourage some parents from disclosing their child's diagnosis (Luo et al., [<reflink idref="bib30" id="ref6">30</reflink>]; Su et al., [<reflink idref="bib43" id="ref7">43</reflink>]), leading to an increased reliance on parents by their children (Baker et al., [<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref8">2</reflink>]).</p> <p>An important yet underexplored factor contributing to these challenges is parental sleep quality. In contrast to findings from U.S. studies indicating that mothers of children with ASD may compensate for poor nighttime sleep by napping during the day (Goldman et al., [<reflink idref="bib19" id="ref9">19</reflink>]), Chinese parents often lack this opportunity due to their heavy caregiving responsibilities, which further exacerbates the adverse impact of poor sleep on daytime parenting (Clark et al., [<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref10">10</reflink>]). However, the daily relationships between parental sleep and parenting experiences within the context of Chinese families remain unclear. To address this gap, the current study utilizes a 14-day diary method to explore the reciprocal associations between daily variations in sleep quality and parenting experiences, which includes both the negative aspect of parenting stress and the positive aspect of perceived life satisfaction among Chinese parents of children with ASD.</p> <p>A growing body of literature has explored the role of sleep in shaping family dynamics. According to the family systems theory (Cox & Paley, [<reflink idref="bib11" id="ref11">11</reflink>]), families are complex, interdependent systems where the experiences of each member can inevitably influence those of others. Research has shown that parents' sleep quality is closely linked to various aspects of family functioning, such as parenting behaviors (Chary et al., [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref12">7</reflink>]; McQuillan et al., [<reflink idref="bib34" id="ref13">34</reflink>]). For example, Tu et al. ([<reflink idref="bib47" id="ref14">47</reflink>]) reported that mothers' sleep problems were associated with less positive and more dysfunctional parenting behaviors. Although fewer studies have examined the impact of parental sleep within families of children with ASD, available evidence indicates that these parents often experience poorer sleep quality, including more sleep problems and insomnia symptoms, compared to parents of typically developing children (Goldman et al., [<reflink idref="bib19" id="ref15">19</reflink>]; Lopez-Wagner et al., [<reflink idref="bib28" id="ref16">28</reflink>]; Varma et al., [<reflink idref="bib48" id="ref17">48</reflink>]). This poor sleep quality has been linked to elevated parenting stress among parents of children with ASD (Hodge et al., [<reflink idref="bib23" id="ref18">23</reflink>]).</p> <p>However, while these studies provide valuable insights into the broader impact of sleep quality on parenting, they do not fully address the dynamic, day-to-day relationship between them. Sleep and parenting experiences can fluctuate significantly from day to day, influenced by situational factors such as caregiving demands, stress levels, or child behavior (Konjarski et al., [<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref19">25</reflink>]; Wang et al., [<reflink idref="bib49" id="ref20">49</reflink>]). The daily diary method provides an opportunity to explore the temporal relationship between parental sleep and parenting within families of children with ASD. This approach allows for the collection of detailed, day-to-day data on both sleep and parenting, offering a more ecologically valid perspective and reducing recall bias compared to traditional methods that rely on retrospective reports (Bolger & Laurenceau, [<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref21">3</reflink>]).</p> <p>To date, only one daily diary study has specifically addressed parental sleep within families of children with ASD (Mihaila & Hartley, [<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref22">36</reflink>]). This study found that daily sleep quality predicted parents' moods the following day, with poor sleep the previous night resulting in decreased positive moods and increased negative moods the following day in both mothers and fathers. However, it did not find a significant link between parents' sleep quality and their perceptions of children's behavior problems. Although this study provides preliminary evidence on the importance of parental sleep quality within families of children with ASD, it needs to be replicated in more independent samples before firmer conclusions can be drawn. Notably, the lack of a significant association between parents' daily sleep quality and perceived child behavior problems contrasts with previous cross-sectional studies (Hodge et al., [<reflink idref="bib23" id="ref23">23</reflink>]).</p> <p>Additionally, this study focused solely on the unidirectional effect of parental sleep on their emotions and perceived child behavior, overlooking potential bidirectional relationships. Sleep and parenting are closely intertwined. Poor sleep can impair parents' emotion regulation (Mauss et al., [<reflink idref="bib33" id="ref24">33</reflink>]), attention (Chary et al., [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref25">7</reflink>]), and ability to engage in positive parenting (McQuillan et al., [<reflink idref="bib34" id="ref26">34</reflink>]; Tu et al., [<reflink idref="bib47" id="ref27">47</reflink>]), thereby increasing parenting stress and reducing life satisfaction. Elevated stress, in turn, can disrupt sleep quality (Martire et al., [<reflink idref="bib32" id="ref28">32</reflink>]).</p> <p>Although research on bidirectional sleep-parenting relationships in families of children with ASD is limited, insights can be drawn from studies conducted in the general population. Some daily diary studies observed reciprocal relationships between sleep and an individual's emotional experiences (see Konjarski et al., [<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref29">25</reflink>] for a review). For instance, Peltz et al. ([<reflink idref="bib38" id="ref30">38</reflink>]) reported that the previous night's sleep quality predicted young adults' daytime anxiety, which, in turn, affected sleep quality that night. However, other studies reported only unidirectional effects (e.g., Bouwmans et al., [<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref31">4</reflink>]; Simor et al., [<reflink idref="bib42" id="ref32">42</reflink>]). For example, de Wild-Hartmann et al. ([<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref33">12</reflink>]) indicated that poor sleep in adults predicted increased negative affect the next day, but negative affect did not influence sleep quality that night. Similarly, Neubauer et al. ([<reflink idref="bib37" id="ref34">37</reflink>]) observed that better sleep improved children's emotional experiences the next day, but daily emotions did not predict sleep quality that night. These findings suggest that sleep consistently influences subsequent emotions in the general population, while the reverse effect—the impact of daily emotions on subsequent sleep quality—is more ambiguous. For parents of children with ASD, the bidirectional relationship between sleep and parenting on a daily level remains unexplored.</p> <hd id="AN0189168316-3">The Current Study</hd> <p>This study examines the daily relationships between parental sleep quality, parenting stress, and life satisfaction among Chinese parents of children with ASD. Drawing on insights from Mihaila and Hartley ([<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref35">36</reflink>]) and prior research on the general population (de Wild-Hartmann et al., [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref36">12</reflink>]; Konjarski et al., [<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref37">25</reflink>]; Neubauer et al., [<reflink idref="bib37" id="ref38">37</reflink>]), we hypothesized bidirectional relationships between these variables. Specifically, we expected that better sleep quality would lead to lower parenting stress and greater life satisfaction, and vice versa. However, the strength of these bidirectional relationships might differ, with the influence of sleep quality on subsequent parenting experiences being more pronounced.</p> <hd id="AN0189168316-4">Methods</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0189168316-5">Participants</hd> <p>A total of 79 Chinese parents (<emph>M</emph> = 36.24 years, <emph>SD</emph> = 3.92 years; 60 mothers) of children with ASD (<emph>M</emph> = 5.52 years, <emph>SD</emph> = 1.75 years; 70 boys) participated in the study. The participants were recruited through online flyers posted on the official WeChat account (a Chinese social networking software application) of the university's Education Research Center for Children with ASD. The inclusion criteria were based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5; APA, 2013), and only children with a confirmed ASD diagnosis by a certified pediatric psychiatrist from a local hospital were included. Four parents who completed fewer than three consecutive days of data entry were excluded, resulting in a final sample of 75 parents (<emph>M</emph> = 36.21 years, <emph>SD</emph> = 3.77 years; 57 mothers). Among these participants, 97.3% identified as Chinese Han ethnicity. Regarding marital status, 98.7% of the parents were married, while 1.3% were divorced. In terms of employment, 70.7% of the parents were employed full-time, 4.0% part-time, and 25.3% were unemployed. The majority of parents were well-educated, with 37.3% holding a master's degree or higher, 53.3% possessing a bachelor's degree, 8.0% having completed high school, and 1.3% having junior high school education or less. According to the criteria of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI; Buysse et al., [<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref39">5</reflink>]), 30.4% of parents were identified as having sleep problems, and 7.6% self-reported using sleep-related medications. Concerning family income, the majority (86.7%) reported annual incomes that were equal to or exceeded the average for urban Chinese families (i.e., 103,642 RMB, or approximately 14,285 USD; China Bureau of Statistics, [<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref40">9</reflink>]).</p> <hd id="AN0189168316-6">Procedure</hd> <p>The study protocol received approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the affiliated university. Research assistants contacted interested participants and provided them with study information. Parents who agreed to participate first provided informed consent online and completed an initial baseline survey on their sociodemographic characteristics. Following the baseline survey, participants were invited to fill out daily diaries for 14 consecutive days. Each evening at 8 p.m., participants received a web link via WeChat directing them to a Qualtrics survey. This survey assessed their daily sleep quality, parenting stress, and life satisfaction. Research assistants offered detailed instructions on the daily procedures and addressed any questions from participants. To ensure compliance, participants were instructed to keep their WeChat notifications active and received daily reminders to complete the questionnaires before bedtime. Each diary entry took approximately 5 min and was time-stamped by the survey system. Participant compliance was high, with 911 diaries (86.76%) out of a possible 1050 daily diary entries (75 participants × 14 days) completed, averaging 12.15 diaries per participant. While community members were not involved in the design or data interpretation of this study, they assisted with participant recruitment and received updates on the study results.</p> <hd id="AN0189168316-7">Measures</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0189168316-8">Daily Sleep Quality</hd> <p>The subjective sleep quality of the participants was assessed using a single item from the PSQI (Buysse et al., [<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref41">5</reflink>]): "How would you rate your sleep quality overall last night?" Responses were rated on a 4-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (very bad) to 4 (very good). This single-item measure offers a direct evaluation of the participants' perceived sleep quality and is widely used in sleep research (e.g., Mihaila & Hartley, [<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref42">36</reflink>]; Ten Brink et al., [<reflink idref="bib46" id="ref43">46</reflink>]). To further evaluate the validity of this item, we analyzed the correlation between the average daily sleep quality scores from this single item and the parents' global ratings of sleep quality, as measured by the PSQI during the baseline visit. These measures were found to be significantly and positively correlated (<emph>r</emph> =.349, <emph>p</emph> <.001).</p> <hd id="AN0189168316-9">Daily Parenting Stress</hd> <p>The perceived daily parenting stress was assessed using five items specifically developed for this study. Parents were asked to report the level of stress they experienced in response to their children's core symptoms of ASD and associated problems, which include restricted and/or repetitive behaviors, communication problems, social interaction challenges, emotion regulation difficulties, and disruptive or aggressive behaviors. Each item was rated on a 5-point Likert-type scale, ranging from 1 (not at all) to 5 (extremely). The total score was calculated by summing the scores of individual items, with higher total scores indicating higher parenting stress perceived by the parents. These items have been commonly used in prior diary studies to assess the daily stressors of parents of children with ASD, demonstrating good reliability and validity (Hartley et al., [<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref44">21</reflink>]; Mihaila & Hartley, [<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref45">36</reflink>]; Wang et al., [<reflink idref="bib49" id="ref46">49</reflink>]). This measure exhibited adequate reliability in the current sample (α = 0.89).</p> <hd id="AN0189168316-10">Daily Life Satisfaction</hd> <p>Daily life satisfaction was assessed using one single item: "How satisfied were you with your life today?". This item, adapted from the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS; Diener et al., [<reflink idref="bib15" id="ref47">15</reflink>]), is widely used in previous daily diary studies (e.g., Maher et al., [<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref48">31</reflink>]; Wang et al., [<reflink idref="bib49" id="ref49">49</reflink>]). Participants responded on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (very dissatisfied) to 5 (very satisfied), with higher scores indicating higher life satisfaction. To further evaluate the validity of this item, we examined the correlation between the average daily life satisfaction scores from this single item and parents' global ratings of life satisfaction, as measured by the SWLS during the baseline visit. These measures were significantly and positively correlated (<emph>r</emph> =.505, <emph>p</emph> <.001).</p> <hd id="AN0189168316-11">Data Analyses</hd> <p>Descriptive statistics were analyzed using R. To explore the daily associations between sleep quality, parenting stress, and life satisfaction, we employed a dynamic structural equation model (DSEM; Asparouhov et al., [<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref50">1</reflink>]) in M<emph>plus</emph> version 8.10. The DSEM integrates elements of multilevel models, time-series analysis, and structural equation models to examine within-person cross-lagged relationships among variables (Hamaker et al., [<reflink idref="bib20" id="ref51">20</reflink>]).</p> <p>A visual representation of the model is presented in Fig. 1. Observed scores for daily sleep quality, parenting stress, and life satisfaction were decomposed into between-person (i.e., latent means of the variables) and within-person (i.e., deviations from the latent means) components. At the within-person level, autoregressive lag-1 paths for all three factors were estimated to detect autoregressive or carryover effects across days (e.g., the impact of yesterday's sleep quality on tonight's sleep quality). Additionally, all potential cross-lagged paths were estimated to examine spillover effects (e.g., the impact of yesterday's sleep quality on today's parenting stress). At the between-person level, correlations of the random intercepts across the three factors were also estimated. The children's age and gender, the parents' age and gender, and whether the parents had sleep problems or used sleep-related medications were included in the model as the between-person covariates.</p> <p>Graph: Fig. 1 Dynamic structural equation model of daily sleep quality, perceived child behavior problems, and life satisfaction. Note. SQ = sleep quality; PS = parenting stress; LS = life satisfaction. The superscript (w) denotes the within-person component of the variables, and µ refers to the between-person component. SQt−1, PSt, and LSt (blue ellipses) were collected simultaneously on day t, while SQt, PSt+1, and LSt+1 (green ellipses) were collected simultaneously on day t + 1. Solid lines indicate statistically significant standardized effects, while dashed lines indicate standardized effects that were estimated in the model but not statistically significant</p> <p>It is important to clarify the temporal relationships among these three variables in our model, given the inherent lagged relations between nighttime sleep and daytime parenting experiences. Accordingly, we divided the time unit of a day into "Day" and "Night" for data analyses and manually adjusted the cross-lagged model. In one direction, we regressed Day <emph>t</emph>-1's sleep quality on Day <emph>t</emph>'s parenting stress and life satisfaction. Conversely, in the other direction, we regressed Day <emph>t</emph>'s parenting stress and life satisfaction on Day <emph>t</emph>'s sleep quality.</p> <p>Model parameters were estimated using a Bayesian estimator with noninformative priors and a Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithm. We utilized two Gibbs sampler chains, each with 5,000 iterations, a 50% burn-in phase, and a thinning value of 10 (Asparouhov et al., [<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref52">1</reflink>]). Model convergence was evaluated based on the Potential Scale Reduction (PSR) and trace plots of parameters (Geiser, [<reflink idref="bib18" id="ref53">18</reflink>]). The within-person standardization approach (Schuurman et al., [<reflink idref="bib41" id="ref54">41</reflink>]) was applied to obtain standardized estimates. Missing values were handled using a Kalman filter approach in M<emph>plus</emph> (Asparouhov et al., [<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref55">1</reflink>]). Estimates were considered statistically significant when the 95% credibility interval (CI) of the estimate did not include zero. The data and analytic code are available at the following link: https://osf.io/7psef/.</p> <hd id="AN0189168316-12">Results</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0189168316-13">Descriptive Statistics</hd> <p>The means, standard deviations, and correlations among daily sleep quality, parenting stress, and life satisfaction are shown in Table 1. At the within-person level, parents' daily sleep quality negatively correlated with their parenting stress (<emph>r</emph> = −.075, <emph>p</emph> =.023) and positively correlated with their life satisfaction (<emph>r</emph> =.254, <emph>p</emph> <.001). Additionally, daily parenting stress was negatively correlated with life satisfaction (<emph>r</emph> = −.124, <emph>p</emph> <.001). The intra-class correlations (ICC) indicate substantive proportions of the variance in sleep quality (60.6%), perceived parenting stress (22.1%), and life satisfaction (40.7%) due to within-person differences, suggesting significant daily variations in these variables. At the between-person level, parents' average sleep quality over 14 days was positively correlated with life satisfaction (<emph>r</emph> =.426, <emph>p</emph> <.001), while average levels of perceived parenting stress negatively correlated with parental life satisfaction (<emph>r</emph> = −.271, <emph>p</emph> =.019). Additionally, the independent sample <emph>t</emph>-tests revealed a significant difference in parents' overall sleep quality depending on whether they had sleep problems, with those with sleep problems showing poorer overall sleep quality over the 14-day period.</p> <p>Table 1 Descriptive statistics and correlations among study variables</p> <p> <ephtml> <table rules="groups"><thead><tr><th align="left"><p>Variable</p></th><th align="left"><p>M (SD within, SD between)</p></th><th align="left"><p>ICC</p></th><th align="left"><p>1</p></th><th align="left"><p>2</p></th><th align="left"><p>3</p></th><th align="left"><p>4</p></th><th align="left"><p>5</p></th><th align="left"><p>6</p></th><th align="left"><p>7</p></th><th align="left"><p>8</p></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td align="left"><p>1. Sleep quality</p></td><td align="left"><p>2.92 (0.54, 0.43)</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.394</p></td><td align="left"><p>–</p></td><td align="left"><p>− 0.07<sup>*</sup></p></td><td align="left"><p>0.25<sup>***</sup></p></td><td align="left" /><td align="left" /><td align="left" /><td align="left" /><td align="left" /></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>2. Parenting stress</p></td><td align="left"><p>13.09 (1.69, 3.17)</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.779</p></td><td align="left"><p>− 0.11</p></td><td align="left"><p>–</p></td><td align="left"><p>− 0.12<sup>***</sup></p></td><td align="left" /><td align="left" /><td align="left" /><td align="left" /><td align="left" /></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>3. Life satisfaction</p></td><td align="left"><p>3.60 (0.46, 0.56)</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.593</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.43<sup>***</sup></p></td><td align="left"><p>− 0.27<sup>*</sup></p></td><td align="left"><p>–</p></td><td align="left" /><td align="left" /><td align="left" /><td align="left" /><td align="left" /></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>4. Child gender</p></td><td align="left"><p>89% (boys)</p></td><td align="left"><p>–</p></td><td align="left"><p>− 0.12</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.20</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.06</p></td><td align="left"><p>–</p></td><td align="left" /><td align="left" /><td align="left" /><td align="left" /></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>5. Child age</p></td><td align="left"><p>5.43(1.56)</p></td><td align="left"><p>–</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.08</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.04</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.14</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.10</p></td><td align="left"><p>–</p></td><td align="left" /><td align="left" /><td align="left" /></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>6. Parent gender</p></td><td align="left"><p>75% (mothers)</p></td><td align="left"><p>–</p></td><td align="left"><p>− 0.09</p></td><td align="left"><p>− 0.10</p></td><td align="left"><p>− 0.01</p></td><td align="left"><p>− 0.011</p></td><td align="left"><p>− 0.08</p></td><td align="left"><p>–</p></td><td align="left" /><td align="left" /></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>7. Parent age</p></td><td align="left"><p>36.21(3.77)</p></td><td align="left"><p>–</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.02</p></td><td align="left"><p>− 0.06</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.07</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.06</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.46<sup>**</sup></p></td><td align="left"><p>0.16</p></td><td align="left"><p>–</p></td><td align="left" /></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>8. Sleep problems</p></td><td align="left"><p>32% (yes)</p></td><td align="left"><p>–</p></td><td align="left"><p>− 0.29**</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.16</p></td><td align="left"><p>− 0.02</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.04</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.07</p></td><td align="left"><p>− 0.07</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.17</p></td><td align="left"><p>–</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>9. Sleep medications</p></td><td align="left"><p>8% (yes)</p></td><td align="left"><p>–</p></td><td align="left"><p>− 0.17</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.04</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.10</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.06</p></td><td align="left"><p>− 0.05</p></td><td align="left"><p>− 0.06</p></td><td align="left"><p>− 0.01</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.43<sup>***</sup></p></td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p>Note: ICC = Intraclass correlation. Between-person correlations are presented below the diagonal, and within-person correlations are presented above the diagonal * <emph>p</emph> <.05, ** <emph>p</emph> <.01, *** <emph>p</emph> <.001</p> <hd id="AN0189168316-14">Dynamic Structural Equation Models</hd> <p>The DSEM standardized and unstandardized estimates of the parameters along with their 95% credible intervals (CI) are presented in Table 2. The within-person standardized model estimates are discussed in the text. This model explained 12.2% of the within-person variability in sleep quality, 29.4% of the variability in perceived parenting stress, and 34.8% of the variability in life satisfaction.</p> <p>Table 2 Parameter Estimation results of the dynamic structural equation model</p> <p> <ephtml> <table rules="groups"><thead><tr><th align="left" rowspan="2" /><th align="left" rowspan="2"><p>Notations</p></th><th align="left" colspan="2"><p>Unstandardized estimates</p></th><th align="left"><p>Standardized estimates</p></th></tr><tr><th align="left"><p>Fixed effects</p></th><th align="left"><p>Random variances</p></th><th align="left"><p>Fixed effects</p></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td align="left" colspan="2"><p>Autoregressive effects</p></td><td align="left" /><td align="left" /><td align="left" /></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>SQ<sub>t−1</sub> → SQ<sub>t</sub></p></td><td align="left"><p>φ<sub><italic>SQSQ</italic></sub></p></td><td align="left"><p>0.005 [-0.097, 0.120]</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.038 [0.005, 0.117]</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.004 [-0.085, 0.101]</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>PS<sub>t−1</sub> → PS<sub>t</sub></p></td><td align="left"><p>φ<sub><italic>PSPS</italic></sub></p></td><td align="left"><p><bold>0.382 [0.267</bold>,<bold> 0.507]</bold></p></td><td align="left"><p>0.065 [0.012, 0.137]</p></td><td align="left"><p><bold>0.379 [0.281</bold>,<bold> 0.481]</bold></p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>LS<sub>t−1</sub> → LS<sub>t</sub></p></td><td align="left"><p>φ<sub><italic>LSLS</italic></sub></p></td><td align="left"><p><bold>0.295 [0.177</bold>,<bold> 0.413]</bold></p></td><td align="left"><p>0.100 [0.054, 0.176]</p></td><td align="left"><p><bold>0.285 [0.191</bold>,<bold> 0.373]</bold></p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Cross-lagged effects</p></td><td align="left" /><td align="left" /><td align="left" /><td align="left" /></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>SQ<sub>t−1</sub> → LS<sub>t</sub></p></td><td align="left"><p>φ<sub><italic>SQLS</italic></sub></p></td><td align="left"><p><bold>0.219 [0.148</bold>,<bold> 0.293]</bold></p></td><td align="left"><p>0.028 [0.006, 0.068]</p></td><td align="left"><p><bold>0.235 [0.167</bold>,<bold> 0.298]</bold></p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>SQ<sub>t−1</sub> → PS<sub>t</sub></p></td><td align="left"><p>φ<sub><italic>SQPS</italic></sub></p></td><td align="left"><p><bold>− 0.248 [-0.495</bold>,<bold> − 0.007]</bold></p></td><td align="left"><p>0.156 [0.011, 0.516]</p></td><td align="left"><p><bold>− 0.071 [-0.136</bold>,<bold> − 0.006]</bold></p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>PS<sub>t−1</sub> → LS<sub>t</sub></p></td><td align="left"><p>φ<sub><italic>PSLS</italic></sub></p></td><td align="left"><p>0.015 [-0.013, 0.042]</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.004 [0.001, 0.010]</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.059 [-0.020, 0.141]</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>PS<sub>t−1</sub> → SQ<sub>t</sub></p></td><td align="left"><p>φ<sub><italic>PSSQ</italic></sub></p></td><td align="left"><p>− 0.010 [-0.037, 0.017]</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.002 [0.001, 0.007]</p></td><td align="left"><p>− 0.036 [-0.122, 0.050]</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>LS<sub>t−1</sub> → PS<sub>t</sub></p></td><td align="left"><p>φ<sub><italic>LSPS</italic></sub></p></td><td align="left"><p>0.253 [-0.163, 0.702]</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.948 [0.248, 2.127]</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.064 [-0.032, 0.155]</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>LS<sub>t−1</sub> → SQ<sub>t</sub></p></td><td align="left"><p>φ<sub><italic>LSSQ</italic></sub></p></td><td align="left"><p>0.047 [-0.061, 0.164]</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.044 [0.006, 0.128]</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.048 [-0.042, 0.149]</p></td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p>Note: SQ = sleep quality; PS = parenting stress; LS = life satisfaction. 95% credible intervals (CIs) are in the brackets. Significant fixed effects (zero is not within the 95% Cis) are bolded</p> <hd id="AN0189168316-15">Autoregressive Effects</hd> <p>At the within-person level, two significant autoregressive paths were observed. Specifically, parents who perceived higher-than-average levels of parenting stress tended to maintain this perception the following day (φ<subs><emph>PSPS</emph></subs> = 0.379, 95% CI [0.281, 0.482]). Similarly, parents who reported lower-than-average levels of life satisfaction were likely to report similarly low levels the next day (φ<subs><emph>LSLS</emph></subs> = 0.285, 95% CI [0.191, 0.373]). However, parents' sleep quality on the previous night did not significantly predict their sleep quality on the following night (φ<subs><emph>SQSQ</emph></subs> = 0.004, 95% CI [-0.085, 0.101]).</p> <hd id="AN0189168316-16">Cross-lagged Effects</hd> <p>There were two significant cross-lagged paths. Specifically, higher-than-average sleep quality on the previous night predicted lower parenting stress (φ<subs><emph>SQPS</emph></subs> = − 0.071, 95% CI [-0.136, − 0.006]), and higher life satisfaction the following day (φ<subs><emph>SQLS</emph></subs> = 0.235, 95% CI [0.167, 0.298]). However, the levels of perceived parenting stress (φ<subs><emph>PSSQ</emph></subs> = − 0.036, 95% CI [-0.122, 0.050]) and subjective life satisfaction (φ<subs><emph>LSSQ</emph></subs> = 0.048, 95% CI [-0.042, 0.149]) during the daytime were not associated with sleep quality that night. This may indicate a unidirectional relationship from sleep quality to both perceived parenting stress and life satisfaction among parents of children with ASD.</p> <hd id="AN0189168316-17">Correlations at the Between-person Level</hd> <p>At the between-person level, the overall sleep quality of parents across the 14 days was positively correlated with their life satisfaction (<emph>r</emph> =.456, 95% CI [0.142, 0.699]), but showed no significant correlation with their parenting stress (<emph>r</emph> = −.076, 95% CI [-0.381, 0.235]). Average parenting stress was negatively correlated with their life satisfaction (<emph>r</emph> = −.363, 95% CI [-0.630, − 0.045]). Moreover, the presence of sleep problems was significantly correlated with parents' overall sleep quality (<emph>B</emph> = -0.216, 95% CI [-0.402, -0.018]). In contrast, other demographic variables, including child age and gender, parent age and gender, and the use of sleep-related medications, showed no significant association with parents' overall sleep quality, parenting stress, or life satisfaction.</p> <hd id="AN0189168316-18">Discussion</hd> <p>In their everyday lives, parents of children with ASD often experience heightened parenting stress and compromised life satisfaction that have important implications for their well-being and their children's development. Contributing to the growing evidence that connects sleep with family dynamics (McQuillan et al., [<reflink idref="bib35" id="ref56">35</reflink>]; Mihaila & Hartley, [<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref57">36</reflink>]), this study is one of the first to explore the reciprocal relationships between daily parental sleep quality and parenting among Chinese parents of children with ASD. Our preliminary findings indicated that fluctuations in sleep quality from the previous night predicted changes in parenting stress and life satisfaction on the following day. However, changes in parenting stress or life satisfaction did not appear to influence subsequent sleep quality, suggesting a unidirectional relationship where sleep quality affects parenting.</p> <p>As expected, poorer sleep quality on a given night was associated with increased daytime parenting stress and decreased life satisfaction the next day. These findings are consistent with previous studies indicating that daily sleep quality significantly influences emotional states in the general population (Konjarski et al., [<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref58">25</reflink>]; Neubauer et al., [<reflink idref="bib37" id="ref59">37</reflink>]). For example, poor sleep quality has been linked to higher anxiety levels in young adults (Peltz et al., [<reflink idref="bib38" id="ref60">38</reflink>]) and more negative and less positive affect in children during the day (Neubauer et al., [<reflink idref="bib37" id="ref61">37</reflink>]). Extending the broader literature on the crucial role of daily sleep, this study highlights that sleep quality is related not only to an individual's daily emotional states but also to the daily experiences of parents raising children with ASD.</p> <p>Sleep supports parents' ability to manage the day-to-day challenges inherent in parenting (Peltz et al., [<reflink idref="bib39" id="ref62">39</reflink>]). Following nights of poor sleep quality, parents are more likely to face difficulties in regulating their emotions, feel a lack of energy, and suffer from attention impairments (Chary et al., [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref63">7</reflink>]; Mauss et al., [<reflink idref="bib33" id="ref64">33</reflink>]). These challenges can subsequently impair their ability to engage in positive parenting behaviors and to effectively address the behavioral problems exhibited by their children with ASD (McQuillan et al., [<reflink idref="bib34" id="ref65">34</reflink>]; Tu et al., [<reflink idref="bib47" id="ref66">47</reflink>]). Consequently, the adverse effects of poor sleep quality can extend into the daytime, leading to heightened parenting stress and compromised life satisfaction while parents caring for their children with ASD (Kelly et al., [<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref67">24</reflink>]; Pinquart, [<reflink idref="bib40" id="ref68">40</reflink>]).</p> <p>To the best of our knowledge, only one diary study has focused on the sleep of parents raising children with ASD (Mihaila & Hartley, [<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref69">36</reflink>]). The researchers found that the previous night's sleep quality significantly predicted the parents' emotional states the following day. The findings of the current study corroborate and extend those of Mihaila and Hartley ([<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref70">36</reflink>]) to the Chinese cultural context. Our results could highlight that, in addition to affecting parents' daily emotional states, daily sleep quality also impacts the day-to-day parenting experiences of Chinese parents of children with ASD.</p> <p>For the reverse effect—the impact of daytime parenting on subsequent sleep quality, the results indicated that daily fluctuations in parenting stress and life satisfaction were not associated with changes in sleep quality. This finding aligns with previous research demonstrating that, compared to the impact of sleep on subsequent emotions, the influence of emotions on subsequent sleep is more unstable and less persistent (Bouwmans et al., [<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref71">4</reflink>]; Neubauer et al., [<reflink idref="bib37" id="ref72">37</reflink>]). The absence of a significant temporal relationship between parenting and subsequent sleep quality may be due to the broad nature of parenting stress and life satisfaction. These terms cover a range of emotions, each potentially impacting sleep differently (Konjarski et al., [<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref73">25</reflink>]). For example, research has demonstrated that various components of negative affect influence sleep in distinct ways; socially evaluative emotions such as feeling judged, rejected, embarrassed, and ashamed are associated with reduced total sleep time, while anxious or nervous feelings tend to prolong periods of wakefulness during sleep without altering the total sleep time (Tavernier et al., [<reflink idref="bib45" id="ref74">45</reflink>]).</p> <p>Indeed, parents of children with ASD may experience a variety of emotions that can impact their sleep quality differently (DePape & Lindsay, [<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref75">13</reflink>]; Su et al., [<reflink idref="bib43" id="ref76">43</reflink>]). Take parenting stress as an example, it might include feelings of sadness due to the ongoing emotional and behavioral challenges of their children despite numerous interventions (Falk et al., [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref77">16</reflink>]), or anxiety about finding better treatment options (Fernańdez-Alcántara et al., [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref78">17</reflink>]). These experiences may also evident among Chinese parents of children with ASD. Despite policies and guidelines promoting inclusive education for children with ASD, families in China continue to face challenges, such as insufficient services and a shortage of healthcare and educational professionals (Liu et al., [<reflink idref="bib27" id="ref79">27</reflink>]). Consequently, parents may encounter diverse and intense stressors in their daily caregiving routines. Furthermore, these parents may face stigma and social discrimination, which can intensify feelings of embarrassment, guilt, and shame among parents (Chan & Lam, [<reflink idref="bib6" id="ref80">6</reflink>]; Cheung et al., [<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref81">8</reflink>]), further affecting their sleep quality. As this study is the first to analyze the temporal dynamics of daily parenting experiences and subsequent sleep among Chinese parents of children with ASD, further research in various cultural contexts is essential to validate and expand upon these findings.</p> <p>Alternatively, the lack of findings regarding the impact of daily parenting on subsequent sleep quality could be due to the timing of the assessment of parenting experiences. Previous research indicates that emotions and thoughts closer to bedtime have a greater impact on that night's sleep quality compared to those experienced earlier in the day (Takano & Tanno, [<reflink idref="bib44" id="ref82">44</reflink>]). In our study, we conducted only one daily assessment, asking parents to reflect on their overall parenting stress and life satisfaction at night before sleep. This time arrangement may limit our ability to detect the impact of parenting on sleep quality. Future diary studies could benefit from conducting multiple measurements throughout the day to better understand how parenting experiences at different times, particularly those just before sleep, influence sleep quality that night.</p> <p>Understanding the directionality of daily associations between sleep and parenting can help optimize intervention strategies aimed at improving the daily parenting experiences of parents of children with ASD. Our results suggest that poor nighttime sleep quality may adversely affect daytime parenting experiences, but compromised daytime parenting experiences do not significantly impact nighttime sleep quality. These preliminary findings underscore the importance of interventions targeting parental sleep, which could help reduce parenting stress and enhance life satisfaction for parents of children with ASD. Despite their potential benefits, interventions with a focus on sleep are often neglected in the context of parenting children with ASD. Our study calls for more attention to this aspect to alleviate parenting stress and thereby improve the overall quality of life for families with a child with autism.</p> <p>This study has several limitations. First, while the use of daily diary surveys helps establish the directionality of effects, it does not confirm causality. Second, the parents in our study were primarily from families with high socio-economic and educational levels compared to the average families of children with ASD in China. This may limit the generalizability of the findings to families from diverse backgrounds. Further research should include a broader and more diverse group of parents of children with ASD to validate our preliminary findings. Third, the study variables were measured exclusively through parental self-reports, all collected at the same time each day. This reliance on self-reports increases the risk of shared method variance, potentially inflating the results. Completing diary entries simultaneously may also introduce recall bias, as parents' recollections of the previous night's sleep quality may be influenced by their daytime parenting experiences. Future studies are encouraged to assess sleep quality in the morning and parenting experiences and life satisfaction in the evening to more accurately capture parents' daily experiences. Additionally, incorporating data from multiple informants (e.g., children, co-parents) or objective measures (e.g., behavioral observations, actigraphy for sleep monitoring) is recommended to enhance the reliability and validity of the findings. Fourth, we used a single item to assess parents' daily sleep quality and life satisfaction. Future research could consider employing multi-item measures to provide a more comprehensive assessment of these variables and to further validate the findings of this study. Finally, factors, such as the overall severity of children's autism symptoms (Dieleman et al., [<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref83">14</reflink>]) and whether children co-sleep with their parents (Köse et al., [<reflink idref="bib26" id="ref84">26</reflink>]) may influence parents' daily sleep quality and parenting experiences. It is recommended that future studies gather this information to gain deeper insights into the daily relationships between sleep quality and parenting experiences in families raising children with ASD.</p> <hd id="AN0189168316-19">Conclusions</hd> <p>The present study is among the first to explore the reciprocal relationships between daily sleep quality and parenting experiences in Chinese parents of children with ASD. It revealed a potentially unidirectional relationship: parents who reported more daytime stress and less life satisfaction, in the same assessment period, also reported lower sleep quality for the night before. Conversely, daytime ratings of parenting experiences did not appear to affect subsequent sleep quality. These preliminary findings highlight the significant impact of daily sleep quality on parenting experiences and suggest that interventions aimed at improving sleep could enhance parenting and overall family functioning in Chinese families of children with ASD.</p> <hd id="AN0189168316-20">Acknowledgements</hd> <p>This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32300891) and the Guangdong Province Philosophy and Social Science Planning Project (GD24YXL04).</p> <hd id="AN0189168316-21">Author Contribution</hd> <p>HW designed and executed the study, analyzed the data, and drafted the manuscript. PZ assisted with data analysis and drafted the manuscript. XH executed the study and assisted in editing the final draft. ZRH collaborated on writing the final draft.</p> <hd id="AN0189168316-22">Declarations</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0189168316-23">Conflict of interest</hd> <p>None.</p> <hd id="AN0189168316-24">Informed Consent</hd> <p>Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.</p> <hd id="AN0189168316-25">Publisher's Note</hd> <p>Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.</p> <ref id="AN0189168316-26"> <title> References </title> <blist> <bibl id="bib1" idref="ref50" type="bt">1</bibl> <bibtext> Asparouhov T, Hamaker EL, Muthén B. Dynamic structural equation models. 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  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Daily Dynamics of Parental Sleep Quality and Parenting in Chinese Families of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
– Name: Language
  Label: Language
  Group: Lang
  Data: English
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Hui+Wang%22">Hui Wang</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0011-8899">0000-0002-0011-8899</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Peiyuan+Zhao%22">Peiyuan Zhao</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Xiaoyi+Hu%22">Xiaoyi Hu</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6936-4799">0000-0002-6936-4799</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Zhuo+Rachel+Han%22">Zhuo Rachel Han</searchLink>
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Journal+of+Autism+and+Developmental+Disorders%22"><i>Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders</i></searchLink>. 2025 55(12):4380-4389.
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  Label: Availability
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  Data: Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://link.springer.com/
– Name: PeerReviewed
  Label: Peer Reviewed
  Group: SrcInfo
  Data: Y
– Name: Pages
  Label: Page Count
  Group: Src
  Data: 10
– Name: DatePubCY
  Label: Publication Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2025
– Name: TypeDocument
  Label: Document Type
  Group: TypDoc
  Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research
– Name: Subject
  Label: Descriptors
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Sleep%22">Sleep</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Parents%22">Parents</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Stress+Variables%22">Stress Variables</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Autism+Spectrum+Disorders%22">Autism Spectrum Disorders</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Life+Satisfaction%22">Life Satisfaction</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Young+Children%22">Young Children</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Intervention%22">Intervention</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
  Label: Geographic Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22China%22">China</searchLink>
– Name: DOI
  Label: DOI
  Group: ID
  Data: 10.1007/s10803-025-06806-y
– Name: ISSN
  Label: ISSN
  Group: ISSN
  Data: 0162-3257<br />1573-3432
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: High sleep quality in parents has been linked to positive parenting outcomes, including reduced parenting stress and increased life satisfaction. However, the daily dynamics of these factors remain underexplored, especially in families of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study examined the reciprocal relationships between daily sleep quality, parenting stress, and life satisfaction among parents of children with ASD. Seventy-five Chinese parents (M = 36.21 years, SD = 3.77 years; 57 mothers) of children with ASD (M = 5.43 years, SD = 1.56 years; 67 boys) participated in a 14-day diary study. Parents reported their subjective sleep quality, parenting stress, and life satisfaction at the same time each day across 7 survey questions. Dynamic structural equation modeling revealed two significant autoregressive effects: parents' perceptions of parenting stress and life satisfaction on a given day tended to persist into the following day. Moreover, better-than-average sleep quality on a given night predicted lower parenting stress and higher life satisfaction the next day. However, daytime fluctuations in parenting stress and life satisfaction did not influence sleep quality that night. These preliminary findings suggest a unidirectional impact of sleep quality on perceived parenting stress and life satisfaction among these parents. Target interventions aimed at improving sleep quality, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) or structured sleep hygiene programs, may be essential for reducing parenting stress and enhancing life satisfaction in parents of children with ASD. These interventions should prioritize promoting consistent sleep routines and managing stress-related sleep disruptions.
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  Label: Abstractor
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  Data: As Provided
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  Label: Entry Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2026
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  Label: Accession Number
  Group: ID
  Data: EJ1492345
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=eric&AN=EJ1492345
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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1007/s10803-025-06806-y
    Languages:
      – Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 10
        StartPage: 4380
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Sleep
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Parents
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Stress Variables
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Autism Spectrum Disorders
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Life Satisfaction
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Young Children
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Foreign Countries
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Intervention
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: China
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Daily Dynamics of Parental Sleep Quality and Parenting in Chinese Families of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
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            NameFull: Hui Wang
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            NameFull: Peiyuan Zhao
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            NameFull: Xiaoyi Hu
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            NameFull: Zhuo Rachel Han
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          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 01
              Type: published
              Y: 2025
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            – Type: issn-print
              Value: 0162-3257
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              Value: 55
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              Value: 12
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            – TitleFull: Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
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