0817 Influencing Factors in the Decision-Making Process of U.S. Parents Regarding the Use of Melatonin for Children
Abstract
Parents are increasingly turning to exogenous melatonin to help children sleep, despite a lack of experimental research examining its efficacy and the safety of long-term use. In the U.S., melatonin is classified as a dietary supplement and no prescription is needed to obtain it. Given recent surges in pediatric consumption, current data on the factors contributing to parents’ decisions to administer melatonin to their children are vital in order to understand perceptions and concerns surrounding its use.
Parents of 1039 U.S. children ages 1.0-13.9 years completed an online questionnaire on children’s development, sleep health, and melatonin use. Data on 212 children who either took melatonin in the past 30 days (N = 131) or at some point previously (N = 81) were included in the present analysis. Open-ended questions on why parents administered melatonin and why they stopped (if applicable) were categorized through thematic coding.
Although nearly half of children who recently took melatonin had bedtime resistance (51.1%) or difficulty falling asleep (46.2%), 24.4% had no reported behavioral sleep problems. Parents’ most common reasons for giving melatonin were to help children fall asleep (49.3%) or wind down before bedtime (22.7%). Parents also reported administering it to adjust for changes to regular sleep routines (17.5%) or to shift circadian rhythms (11.4%). Parents frequently reported initiating melatonin on their own (50.0%), with less than half following the…
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