Home quarantine duration and Chinese preschoolers’ sleep problems during COVID-19: child screen time as an explanatory mechanism and real interpersonal interactions in family setting as a contextualizing buffer

ABSTRACT

Using data collected during the COVID-19 pandemic from 28,185 families with preschoolers living in Hubei, China, this study examined the relationship between home quarantine duration and preschoolers’ sleep problems. In particular, we tested the potential mediating role of child screen usage time and the potential moderating role of real interpersonal interactions in the family setting. Results indicated that home quarantine duration was positively associated with preschoolers’ sleep problems indirectly through both types of screen time. More importantly, a conditional indirect pathway was identified, such that home quarantine duration was linked with preschoolers’ more sleep problems through longer traditional screen time only when real interpersonal interactions were relatively low. These findings, reveal some potential intervention targets and avenues, such as setting limits on child screen time and enhancing more real family interpersonal interactions, to help parents of young children successfully navigate the challenges during home quarantine during the pandemic.

KEYWORDS:

• Screen time
• sleep problems
• family interaction
• Chinese preschoolers
• home quarantine
• COVID-19

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Consent to participate

Written informed consent was obtained from the parents.

Ethics approval

This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Approval was granted by the Ethics Committee of Guangzhou University.

Transparency and openness

The current study’s design and analytic plan were not pre-registered. All data, analysis code, and research materials are available by contacting the first author.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the Project of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China [grant number: 21YJC880092].

Notes on contributors

Limin Zhang

Limin Zhang Ph.D., is currently an associate professor at the Department of Early Childhood Education, School of Education, Guangzhou University. Her research focuses on early childhood education and teacher education.414 Wen Qing Building, No. 230 Wai Huan Xi Road, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou, China 510006. Mobile Phone: [phone], Email: [email protected]

Qi Li

Qi Li is currently a third-year Master's student at the Institute (Department) of Early Childhood Education, Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University, China. Her research interest lies in parents’ socialization goals and cultural values, parenting practices, and early childhood development. Email: [email protected]

Hongjian Cao

Hongjian Cao Ph.D., Department of Psychology, The Jockey Club Tower, Centennial Campus, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China 999077. Phone: [phone]; Email: [email protected]

Pingzhi Ye

Pingzhi Ye Ph.D., is currently a professor at the Department of Early Childhood Education, School of Education, Guangzhou University. Her research focuses on early childhood education. 602 Xing Zheng Xi Building, No. 230 Wai Huan Xi Road, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou, China 510006. Mobile Phone: [phone], Email: [email protected]

Qian Peng

Qian Peng Ph.D., is currently a professor at the Department of Early Childhood Education, Faculty of Educational Sciences, South China Normal University, No.55 Zhongshan Avenue West, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, China 510631. Her research focuses on early childhood education. Mobile Phone: [phone], Email: [email protected]