Objective On March 10, 2020, the Italian Government ordered a national lockdown to limit the viral transmission of coronavirus disease 2019 infections. This study investigated how these restrictive measures have impacted sleep quality, timing, and psychological difficulties in school-age children and their mothers during the lockdown. Methods In an online survey, 299 mothers reported their sleep habits, experience of time, and psychological difficulties as well as those of their children (6–10 years old) during and, retrospectively, before the lockdown. Results During the lockdown, children showed a marked delay in sleep timing—that is, later bedtime and rise time—and a mild worsening in sleep quality. They were less prone to respect daily routines or to keep track of the passage of time. They showed increased emotional, conduct, and hyperactive symptoms, and the increase in these psychological difficulties was predicted by the change in sleep quality, boredom, and mothers’ psychological difficulties. In addition, mothers showed a delayed sleep timing and worsening of sleep quality during the lockdown, in varying degrees depending on their working conditions. Mothers who kept working regularly outside their homes during lockdown reported more regular sleep patterns, whereas mothers who stopped working showed more emotional symptoms and relevant changes in their perception of time. Conclusions Overall, given the evidence of the adverse behavioral and psychological impact of home confinement and social restrictions, effective measures needed to be in place to mitigate long-term effects on children and their mothers, especially those who have had to stop working during lockdown.

中文翻译：

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COVID-19 封锁期间意大利学龄儿童的睡眠和心理困难

目标 2020 年 3 月 10 日，意大利政府下令全国封锁，以限制 2019 年冠状病毒病感染的病毒传播。本研究调查了这些限制性措施如何影响封锁期间学龄儿童及其母亲的睡眠质量、时间和心理困难。方法 在一项在线调查中，299 名母亲报告了她们的睡眠习惯、时间经历和心理困难，以及她们的孩子（6-10 岁）在封锁期间和封锁之前的情况。结果 在封锁期间，儿童的睡眠时间显着延迟，即就寝时间和起床时间延迟，睡眠质量略有恶化。他们不太倾向于尊重日常生活或跟踪时间的流逝。他们表现出更多的情绪、行为、和多动症状，而这些心理困难的增加可以通过睡眠质量、无聊和母亲心理困难的变化来预测。此外，母亲们在封锁期间表现出睡眠时间延迟和睡眠质量恶化，具体程度取决于她们的工作条件。在封锁期间继续定期在家外工作的母亲报告说，他们的睡眠模式更规律，而停止工作的母亲则表现出更多的情绪症状和对时间感知的相关变化。结论 总体而言，鉴于居家禁闭和社会限制对行为和心理产生不利影响的证据，需要采取有效措施来减轻对儿童及其母亲的长期影响，