Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) has resulted in a significantly large number of psychological consequences, including sleep health. The present study evaluated sleep patterns, sleep disturbances, and associated factors in Chinese preschoolers confined at home during the COVID‐19 outbreak. Caregivers of 1619 preschoolers (aged 4–6 years) recruited from 11 preschools in Zunyi, Guizhou province completed the Children’s Sleep Habit Questionnaire (CSHQ) between 17th and 19th February 2020. Data were compared to a sociodemographically similar sample of preschoolers (included in the 11 preschools) in 2018. Compared to the 2018 sample, the confined preschoolers demonstrated changes in sleep patterns characterized by later bedtimes and wake times, longer nocturnal and shorter nap sleep durations, comparable 24‐hr sleep duration, and fewer caregiver‐reported sleep disturbances. Moreover, behavioural practices (sleeping arrangement, reduced electronic device use, regular diet) and parenting practices (harmonious family atmosphere and increased parent‐child communication) were associated with less sleep disturbances in the confined sample. The present study provides the first description of the impact of prolonged home confinement during the COVID‐19 outbreak on sleep patterns and sleep disturbances in preschoolers, as well as highlighting the importance of the link between sleep health and family factors. Given that disrupted and insufficient sleep has been linked to immune system dysfunction, our findings also have potential implications for resilience to infection in young children during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Future studies should further explore deficient sleep as a risk factor for coronavirus infection.

The Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ) has been used globally as a sound screening tool for sleep problems in children, and it has been increasingly adopted in China. However, its psychometrical properties have not been examined among preschool‐aged Chinese children. This study examined the reliability and validity of the CSHQ in urban, preschool‐aged Chinese children. Questionnaires were distributed to 3850 kindergarteners and completed by their parents or other guardians. Another 113 CSHQ questionnaires were distributed to examine the test–retest reliability, which was determined by the intraclass correlation coefficient. Internal consistency was evaluated by Cronbach's α. The construct validity was explored by both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Of the 3850 distributed questionnaires, 3324 (86.3%) were returned, and for test–retest questionnaires, 106 of 113 (93.8%) were returned. Cronbach's α ranged from 0.44 (Night‐time awakenings) to 0.63 (Daytime sleepiness); test–retest reliability ranged from 0.54 (Night‐time awakenings) to 0.76 (Sleep anxiety), with an exceptionally low subscale of 0.38 (Sleep duration). Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the original eight‐domain structure was not well suited for preschool‐aged Chinese children, and exploratory factor analysis revealed an acceptable eight‐factor structure after certain items were deleted and some items were loaded on two factors. Although the results were not optimum, the CSHQ demonstrated basically acceptable reliability, except for Night‐time awakenings and Sleep duration subscales, in urban, preschool‐aged Chinese children. However, because of factors such as culture and age difference, the CSHQ's structure must be modified to adapt the preschool‐aged Chinese children.

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This study evaluated the factor structure, measurement invariance, criterion-related and incremental validity of the Chinese version of the Academic Grit Scale (AGS) among 723 adolescents from mainland China. Results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported the single-factor model, exhibiting scalar invariance across gender and partial scalar invariance across groups (i.e., middle and high school students). The AGS total score showed internal consistency and temporal stability when used one month later. Moreover, academic grit was shown to be positively correlated with academic achievement, general grit, and dimensional student engagement. Academic grit also predicted academic achievement after isolating the effects of the related variables (i.e., general grit and student engagement) and overlapping components of academic grit and the related variables. Overall, the Chinese version of the AGS demonstrated adequate reliability and validity and was shown to be a useful tool for examining academic grit in Chinese adolescents.