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Life stress, insomnia, and anxiety/depressive symptoms in adolescents: A three-wave longitudinal study
Yanyun Yang1, Xianchen Liu2, Zhen-Zhen Liu3
1Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA.
Purpose:
Life stress has negative impacts on sleep and mental health. Little empirical work has investigated the associations between life stress, insomnia, and anxiety/depressive symptoms (ADS) in multi-wave longitudinal studies. This longitudinal study examined these associations in a large sample of adolescents.
Methods:
A total of 6995 adolescents (mean age = 14.86 years, 51.4 % male) participated in a 3-wave longitudinal study of behavior and health in Shandong, China. Standardized rating scales were used to assess life stress, insomnia, and ADS in 2015 (T1), 1 year later (T2), and 2 years later (T3). Three-wave longitudinal panel models were conducted to examine the prospective relationships between life stress, insomnia, and ADS.
Results:
The prevalence and persistence rates of insomnia and ADS across T1-T3 significantly increased with elevated life stress score (p < .001). Cross-lagged panel analysis showed that life stress, insomnia, and ADS at a later time point were significantly predicted by the same variable at earlier time points (all p < .01). Life stress, insomnia, and ADS significantly predicted each other bidirectionally over time (all p < .01). The relationship between life stress and ADS was partially mediated by insomnia. The relationship between life stress and insomnia was partially mediated by ADS.
Study Limitation:
Life stress, insomnia, and ADS were all self-reports.
Conclusions:
Life stress, insomnia, and ADS are prospectively bidirectionally related to one another. Insomnia was a mediator of life stress and subsequent ADS and vice versa. These findings underscore the importance of sleep and mental health assessment and intervention in adolescents following life stress.
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