Petak Ana, Novak Miranda
Faculty of Croatian Studies, Department of Psychology, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia.
Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation Sciences, Department of Behavioural Disorders, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia.
Chronobiol Int. 2025 Jul;42(7):893-904. doi: 10.1080/07420528.2025.2513433. Epub 2025 Jun 3.
Poor sleep quality is strongly linked to depressive symptoms; however, the mediators of this relationship are not well understood. Circadian preferences (CP) emerge as one of the possible mediators underlying this relationship. Previous studies have focused on clinical samples, employed cross-sectional designs and neglected emerging adulthood stage. This study aimed to explore causal relationships using two-wave longitudinal data. The final sample included 272 students from the University of Zagreb (79% female), aged between 18 and 25 years ( = 20.08, SD = 1.14). The Cross-Lagged Panel Model (CLPM) with mediation was employed to test the bidirectional link between sleep quality and depressive symptoms, considering the mediating effect of CP. According to the results, the relationship between sleep quality and depressive symptoms is reciprocal. The effect size indicates that sleep quality has a statistically significant predictive effect on depressive symptoms over time, and vice versa. Mediation analysis revealed that CP did not significantly mediate the relationship between sleep quality and depressive symptoms. CP significantly influenced sleep quality but did not independently contribute to depressive symptoms, suggesting that other mechanisms may be involved in this relationship, such as genetic influences or emotional regulation. The bidirectional relationship between sleep quality and depressive symptoms has significant implications for effective treatment and the prevention of future issues and poorer prognoses. Environmental interventions designed to enhance sleep quality may prevent the onset of depression or reduce existing depressive symptoms. To maximize the effectiveness of these interventions, further research into the mediators of this relationship is essential.
睡眠质量差与抑郁症状密切相关；然而，这种关系的中介因素尚未得到充分理解。昼夜偏好（CP）成为这种关系潜在的中介因素之一。以往的研究主要集中在临床样本上，采用横断面设计，忽视了新兴成年阶段。本研究旨在利用两波纵向数据探索因果关系。最终样本包括272名来自萨格勒布大学的学生（79%为女性），年龄在18至25岁之间（平均年龄=20.08，标准差=1.14）。采用带有中介效应的交叉滞后面板模型（CLPM）来检验睡眠质量与抑郁症状之间的双向联系，同时考虑CP的中介作用。根据结果，睡眠质量与抑郁症状之间的关系是相互的。效应大小表明，随着时间的推移，睡眠质量对抑郁症状具有统计学上显著的预测作用，反之亦然。中介分析表明，CP并没有显著中介睡眠质量与抑郁症状之间的关系。CP对睡眠质量有显著影响，但对抑郁症状没有独立的影响，这表明这种关系可能涉及其他机制，如遗传影响或情绪调节。睡眠质量与抑郁症状之间的双向关系对有效治疗以及预防未来问题和较差预后具有重要意义。旨在提高睡眠质量的环境干预措施可能预防抑郁症的发作或减轻现有的抑郁症状。为了使这些干预措施的效果最大化，进一步研究这种关系的中介因素至关重要。
