A longitudinal study of the bidirectional relationship between adolescent depression and sleep problems

Abstract

Objective To explore the bidirectional relationship between adolescent depression and sleep problems using the structural equation model (SEM)approach in a cross-lagged model. Methods The three-round longitudinal data of 1006 adolescents (aged from 12 to 18) were analyzed which were drawn from a longitudinal study named Chinese Adolescent Mental Health Research Program.The adolescents were assessed with the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale(CES-D) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index(PSQI). The studies were conducted about every 12 months in three years. Results The scores of depression were 5.55±4.70 at first round, 6.68±5.68 at the second round and 7.00±5.41 at the third round.The scores of sleep problems were 5.01±2.72 at the second round and 5.25±2.76 at the third round. The correlation analyses showed that there were significant cross-sectional and cross-waves correlations between depression and sleep problems(r=0.20~0.56, P 0.05). Conclusion There is a stable bidirectional relationship between adolescent depression and sleep problems across time instead of a one-way relationship. Adolescent depression and sleep problems can predict each other during adolescent development. Key words: Sleep; Depression; Adolescent; Bidirectional relationship