| The purpose of this study was to examine the relations between cultural values, social norms, and beliefs related to co-sleeping with the sleeping arrangements of first generation Chinese immigrants in Canada. The participants were 162 first generation Chinese immigrants from four Canadian cities who had children ranging from 2 months to 71 months (M = 37.9, SD = 18.06). Participants completed a questionnaire measuring their cultural values and beliefs, value of parenting roles and family, value of romantic relationships, and beliefs of sleeping arrangements. Parents indicated their sleeping arrangements (i.e. where child slept and with whom the child slept). Participants were also asked to draw a picture of their bedroom(s) which indicated the location of the child's and/or parent's bed, and the distance between the two beds. Results indicated that 77% Chinese parents in this study co-slept with their pre-school aged child, whereas only 23% parents let their child sleep in their own bedroom. Among the co-sleepers, half of the children slept in their parent's bed, and half of them slept in their own bed, which was either attached to the parent's bed or separated from the parent's bed. The mean distance between the parents' bed and the child's bed was 21.15cm (SD = 42.74) for co-sleeping families, and 502.8 cm (SD = 188.69) for solitary sleeping families.;Using stepwise regression analysis, the relations between demographic factor, space availability, values, norms, and beliefs, on the one hand, and sleeping arrangements, on the other, were examined. Personal beliefs about sleeping arrangements, including cultural beliefs of independence and interdependence, beliefs of marital quality, and beliefs of solitary sleeping, influence sleeping arrangements. Parents' length of residency in Canada, child's age, and bedroom numbers also influence sleeping arrangements. The findings have important implications for researchers and health professionals in terms of sleeping arrangements in the larger socio-cultural context. |
