Clarifying longitudinal associations between maternal mental health, perceived sleep quality, and perceived parental impact: A cross-lagged panel model

• Higher maternal symptoms were linked to poorer sleep quality, but not the reverse. • Higher maternal symptoms were linked to lower perceived parental impact. • Bidirectional links between depressive symptoms and perceived parental impact. • Addressing maternal mental health during the perinatal period is key. • Maternal mental health interventions must address links to perceived parental impact. Pregnancy is a period of heightened vulnerability to mental illness. Research shows that poor sleep quality can predict mental health problems over time, although there is evidence of bidirectional associations. The objective was to study bidirectional links between maternal mental health, sleep quality and perceived parental impact over the perinatal period. Pregnant individuals ( M age =31.13; SD =4.28) were recruited from October 2020-September 2022 for the Resilience and Perinatal Stress during the Pandemic (RESPPA) Study. Analyses ( N = 1385) were conducted using cross-lagged panel models, with data collected from the third trimester of pregnancy (T1), at 3 months postpartum (T2) and 12 months postpartum (T3). Greater maternal anxiety symptoms at T1 were associated with poorer sleep quality at T2 (β=0.168, SE=0.035, p <.001), and with a lower sense of perceived parental impact at T2 (β=-0.141, SE=0.043, p =.001). Greater maternal depressive symptoms at T1 were associated with poorer sleep quality at T2 (β=0.151, SE=0.036, p <.001), and with a lower sense of perceived parental impact at T2 (β=-0.121, SE=0.044, p =.006). Greater maternal depressive symptoms at T2 were associated with a lower sense of perceived parental impact at T3 (β=-0.147, SE=0.039, p <.001). A lower sense of perceived parental impact at T2 was associated with greater maternal depressive symptoms at T3 (β=-0.102, SE=0.031, p =.001). Results indicate associations between maternal mental health symptoms and subsequent perceived sleep quality, but not vice-versa. While anxiety and depressive symptoms were associated with subsequent perceived parental impact, perceived parental impact was also associated with subsequent depressive symptoms (but not anxiety symptoms).