Institute of Health Behaviors and Community Sciences, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Room 622, 6F, No. 17, Xu-Zhou Road, Taipei, 100, Taiwan.
Institute of Population Health Sciences, National Health Research Institutes, 35 Keyan Road, Zhunan Town, Miaoli County, 35053, Taiwan.
Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2024 Jan;33(1):179-191. doi: 10.1007/s00787-023-02160-5. Epub 2023 Feb 8.
Late chronotype during adolescence is a critical risk factor for poor physical and mental health among adolescents. While social loneliness is confirmed to negatively influence sleep behaviors, the long-term effect of social loneliness on chronotype remains unknown. This study aims to investigate whether social loneliness trajectories from middle childhood to adolescence are associated with chronotype in late adolescence and examine the potential sex differences in these associations. Data were obtained from 2398 adolescents who participated in the Child and Adolescent Behaviors in Long-Term Evolution project. Chronotype was calculated as the midpoint of sleep on free days adjusted for sleep debt. Group-based trajectory modeling and multiple linear regression were employed to establish social loneliness trajectories and determine their associations with chronotype. Social loneliness trajectories were significantly associated with chronotype and varied by sex. Specifically, boys following a high-decreasing trajectory had earlier chronotype during late adolescence than did those following a low-decreasing trajectory (B = - 0.07; p < 0.05). By contrast, girls following a low-to-moderate-increasing trajectory exhibited later chronotype than did those following a low-stable trajectory (B = 0.07; p < 0.01). Social loneliness trajectories, especially those displaying significant fluctuations over time, are critical indicators influencing chronotype among adolescents. Furthermore, these trajectories and their associations with chronotype display sex differences. These findings highlight the need for early interventions for psychological factors such as social loneliness to ensure that the late chronotype can be prevented. In addition, sex variations must be considered.
青少年时期的晚型是青少年身心健康不良的一个关键风险因素。虽然社交孤独被证实会对睡眠行为产生负面影响，但社交孤独对时型的长期影响尚不清楚。本研究旨在调查从中童年到青春期的社交孤独轨迹是否与青春期后期的时型有关，并探讨这些关联中潜在的性别差异。数据来自于 2398 名参与儿童和青少年长期行为演变项目的青少年。时型通过调整睡眠债务后的自由日睡眠中点计算得出。采用基于群组的轨迹建模和多元线性回归来建立社交孤独轨迹，并确定其与时型的关联。社交孤独轨迹与时型显著相关，且存在性别差异。具体来说，与低减少轨迹相比，遵循高减少轨迹的男孩在青春期后期的时型更早（B=−0.07；p<0.05）。相比之下，与低稳定轨迹相比，遵循低到中等增加轨迹的女孩的时型更晚（B=0.07；p<0.01）。社交孤独轨迹，特别是那些随时间显著波动的轨迹，是影响青少年时型的关键指标。此外，这些轨迹及其与时型的关联存在性别差异。这些发现强调了需要对社交孤独等心理因素进行早期干预，以确保预防晚型时型的出现。此外，必须考虑性别差异。
