Figueiredo Sandra, Silvestre Patrícia
Psychology Research Centre (CIP and University Research Centre in Psychology (CUIP)), Department of Psychology, Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa Luís de Camões, Palácio Dos Condes Do Redondo, R. de Santa Marta 56, 1169-023 Lisbon, Portugal.
Children (Basel). 2025 Mar 31;12(4):448. doi: 10.3390/children12040448.
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Emotional regulation and attention are markedly underdeveloped in institutionalized children (IC) relative to non-institutionalized children (NIC). Caregivers in temporary institutional settings tend to exhibit contingency-responsive behaviors with limited affective engagement, which may restrict optimal socio-emotional development. Despite the critical role that sleep routines play in child development, their association with emotional regulation and attention in the context of institutionalization remains insufficiently explored. The present study aimed to assess the impact of institutionalization on emotional regulation, attention, and sleep hygiene in childhood, as well as to investigate whether sleep mediates the relationship between emotional regulation and attention.
A total of 110 children aged 7 to 11 years (N = 55 IC; N = 55 NIC) were assessed using the Emotion Regulation Checklist (ERC), the Cancellation Test (Toulouse-Piéron), and the Children's Chronotype Questionnaire.
Regression analyses and parametric tests revealed significant differences between IC and NIC groups. IC exhibited lower emotional regulation (β = 8.018, < 0.05) and poorer attention (β = 3.818, < 0.05) compared with NIC. Additionally, the MidSleep Point (MSP) was significantly different between groups, with NIC demonstrating shorter sleep periods (β = -1158.545, < 0.05), contrary to expectations.
These findings suggest that prolonged institutionalization impairs socio-emotional development, with downstream effects on cognitive functioning, particularly attention. While differences in sleep routines between IC and NIC were observed, sleep did not appear to directly mediate the relationship between emotional regulation and attention, nor did it present a primary risk factor compared with the broader developmental challenges associated with institutional care.
背景/目的：与非机构化儿童（NIC）相比，机构化儿童（IC）的情绪调节和注意力明显发育不足。临时机构环境中的照顾者往往表现出应急反应行为，情感投入有限，这可能会限制最佳的社会情感发展。尽管睡眠习惯在儿童发育中起着关键作用，但在机构化背景下，其与情绪调节和注意力的关联仍未得到充分探索。本研究旨在评估机构化对儿童情绪调节、注意力和睡眠卫生的影响，并调查睡眠是否介导情绪调节与注意力之间的关系。
使用情绪调节检查表（ERC）、取消测试（图卢兹-皮埃隆）和儿童昼夜节律问卷对110名7至11岁的儿童（N = 55名IC；N = 55名NIC）进行评估。
回归分析和参数检验显示IC组和NIC组之间存在显著差异。与NIC相比，IC表现出较低的情绪调节能力（β = 8.018，<0.05）和较差的注意力（β = 3.818，<0.05）。此外，两组之间的睡眠中点（MSP）存在显著差异，与预期相反，NIC的睡眠时间较短（β = -1158.545，<0.05）。
这些发现表明，长期机构化会损害社会情感发展，并对认知功能产生下游影响，尤其是注意力。虽然观察到IC和NIC在睡眠习惯上存在差异，但睡眠似乎并未直接介导情绪调节与注意力之间的关系，与机构照料相关的更广泛发育挑战相比，睡眠也不是主要风险因素。
