Social confinement involves a series of temporary changes in the habits and lifestyles of individuals, severely affecting their regular activities and schedules and substantially modifying socio-familial behavior (SFB) and sleep quality (SQ). There is no literature reporting the effects of SFB changes on SQ during social confinement due to the COVID-19 outbreak. An observational transversal research design, with group comparison and correlation methods, was used to perform the present study. The results were analyzed as follows: (1) An exploratory factor analysis (EFA); (2) A description of the sample was determined by proportions comparisons of sleep habits between the different variables of interest; and (3) A linear regression model was analyzed to explore the predictive association of the negative effects of social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic on SFB and SQ. In addition to the global SFB score, two SFB factors were identified as predictors affecting the SQ, SF-Habits, and SF-Emotional scores, suggesting a close balance between daily life activities and sleep health during critical social changes. Furthermore, two main risk factors resulted from the regression analysis: economic concerns and increased alcohol consumption. Therefore, the predictive capacity of economic concerns showed statistical significance in anticipating negative sleep quality scores. Overall, this suggests that sleep quality, economic concerns, schedules, and substance use were associated with the self-perception of coping skills, elucidating the importance of fostering habits related to schedules within the home and ensuring that all family members participate.

Children living in residential care homes (RCH) often present conditions of abandonment due to separation, abuse and mistreatment; circumstances that are detrimental to proper emotional development, resulting in poor self-confidence, aggressive behaviors, low self-esteem, anxiety, among other developmental problems. Additionally, pandemic lockdown hinders access to mental health services for RCH service providers, and limits children to external mental health support and resources. The objective of this study was to design and evaluate the effectiveness of a remote-applied Emotional-Intelligence-based intervention program (RA-EIBI) for children living in RCH during pandemic lockdown. A non-parametric pre-test, treatment, post-test comparative design was used to evaluate effectiveness of the intervention program. Seven children living in RCH during pandemic lockdown were initially assessed using Evaluation of Neurological Soft Signs, and Empathy Quotient (EQ-I) to estimate emotional intelligence quotient. A 10 session RA-EIBI program was designed and applied to the children after initial assessment, and a final evaluation was conducted to perform related samples comparisons. Results shown a non-significant mean increase of intrapersonal, interpersonal, stress management, adaptability, and emotional state, all emotional intelligence-related skills. A RA-EIBI program is an accessible resource for RCH, and children living under this condition. EI skills were maintained along the social isolation period due to COVID-19. Followup of emotional conditions of children demonstrated an improvement in self-perceived well-being.

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