Predictors of Primary School Children’s Sleep Habits: Child and Parent Anxiety and Parents’ Emotion Regulation Skills

In this study, using a correlational research design, the predictive role of children’s and parents’ anxiety levels and parents’ emotion regulation skills on children’s sleep habits was examined. The research was conducted online during the fall semester of the 2024–2025 academic year with parents of primary school children (N = 220); 88% of the participants were mothers (n = 194) and 12% were fathers (n = 26). Participants were recruited via convenience sampling. Data collected through the convenience sampling procedure were obtained using a Personal Information Form, the Child Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ), the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale—Parent Version (SCAS-Parent), the Parent Emotion Regulation Scale (PERS), and the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). Pearson correlation analysis was used to determine the direction and strength of relationships among variables, and stepwise multiple linear regression analysis was employed to identify the predictive effects of parents’ and children’s anxiety levels and parents’ emotion regulation characteristics on children’s sleep habits. The findings indicated that both children’s and parents’ anxiety levels, as well as parents’ emotion regulation skills, were significantly associated with children’s sleep habits. The results were interpreted in the framework in the context of previous research; study limitations were identified, and recommendations were offered for practice and future research.