Gorgol Joanna, Randler Christoph, Stolarski Maciej, Kalb Nadine
Institute of Psychology, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
Department of Biology, Eberhard Karls University Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany.
J Sleep Res. 2025 Aug;34(4):e14403. doi: 10.1111/jsr.14403. Epub 2024 Dec 3.
Chronopsychological research typically applied the morningness-eveningness dimension, resulting in a distinction between morning, intermediate, and evening chronotypes. However, in recent years, new measures have been developed that transcend the traditional "morning larks" vs. "night owls" dichotomy and better capture the complexity of individual differences in circadian rhythmicity. One such measure that addresses the multidimensional character of the circadian rhythm is the Morningness-Eveningness-Stability Scale improved (MESSi) which comprises three dimensions: morning affect, eveningness, and distinctness. However, delineating specific chronotypes using the cut-off points, as was commonly done for other established scales, is not possible in the case of MESSi due to its multidimensionality. In the present paper, we provide a first attempt to introduce a cluster-based approach to deal with MESSi scores. For this purpose, we determined the number of clusters to be extracted using data from our previous study conducted in Poland (N = 1106). Next, we attempted to replicate this cluster solution in another Polish sample (N = 768) and a German sample (N = 637). Finally, we also intended to illustrate how individuals assigned to the established clusters differ in terms of sleep parameters and other differential variables such as positive and negative affect, personality traits, depressive and anxiety symptoms, self-regulation, and self-efficacy. After segmenting MESSi scores by cluster analysis in the three samples we found support for a four-cluster solution, including four circadian profiles which we propose to label "intermediate-finches", "hardy larks", "night owls", and "vulnerable larks". This is the first attempt to introduce a cluster-based, multi-dimensional approach to dealing with MESSi scores.
时间心理学研究通常采用晨型-夜型维度，从而区分出晨型、中间型和夜型三种昼夜节律类型。然而，近年来，已经开发出了一些新的测量方法，这些方法超越了传统的“早起鸟”与“夜猫子”二分法，能更好地捕捉昼夜节律中个体差异的复杂性。一种解决昼夜节律多维度特征的测量方法是改进后的晨型-夜型-稳定性量表（MESSi），它包含三个维度：晨型情绪、夜型倾向和独特性。然而，由于MESSi具有多维度性，与其他既定量表通常的做法不同，使用临界点来划分特定的昼夜节律类型是不可能的。在本文中，我们首次尝试引入一种基于聚类的方法来处理MESSi分数。为此，我们使用之前在波兰进行的研究（N = 1106）的数据来确定要提取的聚类数量。接下来，我们试图在另一个波兰样本（N = 768）和一个德国样本（N = 637）中复制这种聚类解决方案。最后，我们还打算说明分配到既定聚类中的个体在睡眠参数以及其他差异变量（如积极和消极情绪、人格特质、抑郁和焦虑症状、自我调节和自我效能）方面是如何不同的。在对三个样本进行聚类分析以分割MESSi分数后，我们发现支持一种四类解决方案，包括四种昼夜节律模式，我们建议将其标记为“中间雀型”、“强壮晨型”、“夜猫子”和“脆弱晨型”。这是首次尝试引入一种基于聚类的多维度方法来处理MESSi分数。
