Maternal Parenting Styles and Nighttime Diaper Use in Early Childhood: The Japan Environment and Children's Study
Akihisa Hasegawa, Kenji Omae, Yusuke Kirihana, Kei Yaginuma, Satoru Meguro, Kanako Matsuoka, Junya Hata, Yuichi Sato, Soichiro Ogawa, Yuka Ogata, Akiko Sato, Takahiro Nozaki, Takahiro Omoto, Hidekazu Kuraya, Hidekazu Nishigori, Hayato Go, Seiji Yasumura, Keiya Fujimori, Mitsuaki Hosoya, Koichi Hashimoto, Noriaki Kurita, Yoshiyuki Kojima,ABSTRACT
Purpose
To examine cross‐sectional and longitudinal associations between maternal parenting style and nighttime diaper use in early childhood.
Methods
We analyzed data from the Japan Environment and Children's Study, a nationwide prospective birth cohort. Maternal parenting styles were categorized as Authoritative, Authoritarian, Permissive, or Uninvolved using responsiveness and demandingness scores from a validated parenting attitude questionnaire. Nighttime diaper use was assessed at ages 3 and 4 years. Multivariable modified Poisson regression with robust error variance was applied to estimate adjusted prevalence ratios (aPRs) for nighttime diaper use at age 3 and adjusted risk ratios (aRRs) for its persistence from ages 3 to 4.
Results
The cross‐sectional and longitudinal analyses included 65 765 and 54 915 mother–child pairs, respectively. Compared with the Uninvolved style, aPRs for nighttime diaper use at age 3 were 0.96 (95% CI, 0.95–0.97) for Authoritative, 0.99 (95% CI, 0.98–1.00) for Authoritarian, and 0.99 (95% CI, 0.99–1.00) for Permissive styles. The corresponding aRRs for persistent nighttime diaper use were 0.93 (95% CI, 0.91–0.95), 0.96 (95% CI, 0.94–0.98), and 0.98 (95% CI, 0.96–1.01). No significant interaction was found with child sex, whereas a significant interaction was observed between child developmental status and Authoritarian style.
Conclusions
Maternal parenting styles were associated with nighttime diaper use at age 3 and its persistence at age 4. Although nighttime diaper use is not a direct measure of nocturnal continence, these findings suggest that maternal caregiving context may be relevant to early nighttime diaper discontinuation before school age.
Trial Registration
ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: UMIN000030786