The Impact of Cry-It-Out on the Parent-Child Relationship in Early Adolescence

Cry-It-Out (CIO) is a sleeping training technique where parents allow their infants to cry for periods of time without intervention, with the goal of teaching them to fall asleep independently and self-soothe. This study is one of the first to explore the effects of CIO on the parent-child relationship in early adolescence. A group (N = 25) of middle school parents and students were recruited to participate. Parents filled out a brief questionnaire about their child’s sleep patterns, creating two groups: (1) CIO and (2) non-CIO groups. Afterwards, middle school students filled out parent attachment inventory which measured parental trust, parental communication, and parental alienation with their primary caregiver. Results indicated that the CIO group had lower levels of parental trust and borderline higher levels of parental alienation. This study provides preliminary evidence that the CIO sleep training method has a negative impact on parent-child relationships and attachment.