Cortisol secretion and change in sleep problems in early childhood: Moderation by maternal overcontrol

• Cortisol secretion (morning level, diurnal change, nocturnal change) was measured when toddlers were 18–20 months old.
• Principle components analyses yielded steep and blunted components.
• Sleep problems were measured longitudinally, at 24 and 36 months of age.
• Parenting was considered as a moderator of the relation between cortisol secretion and sleep.
• Blunted cortisol secretion predicted increases in sleep problems in the context of maternal critical control.

Childhood sleep problems are prevalent and relate to a wide range of negative psychological outcomes. However, it remains unclear how biological processes, such as HPA activity, may predict sleep problems over time in childhood in the context of certain parenting environments. Fifty-one mothers and their 18–20 month-old toddlers participated in a short-term longitudinal study assessing how shared variance among morning levels, diurnal change, and nocturnal change in toddlers’ cortisol secretion predicted change in sleep problems in the context of maternal overprotection and critical control. A composite characterized by low variability in, and, to a lesser extent, high morning values of cortisol, predicted increasing sleep problems from age 2 to age 3 when mothers reported high critical control. Results suggest value in assessing shared variance among different indices of cortisol secretion patterns and the interaction between cortisol and the environment in predicting sleep problems in early childhood.