Longitudinal association between chronotype and depressive symptoms among college students: Mediating roles of perceived stress and self-control

This study aims to explore the longitudinal relationship between chronotype and depressive symptoms and the mediating roles of perceived stress and self-control among college students. A total of 11,010 college students completed two web-based surveys during 17 to 29 October 2023 (Time 1, T1) and 15 to 24 April 2024 (Time 2, T2), respectively. Participants completed the reduced version of morningness-eveningness questionnaire, the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale, the Brief Self-Control Scale, the 2-item Patient Health Questionnaire, and 3 items of the Youth Self-Rating Insomnia Scale. The results indicated that perceived stress (T1) and self-control (T2) serially mediate the relationship between morning chronotype (T1) and depressive symptoms (T2) (<i>β</i> = -0.010, 95% CI: -0.012 to -0.009), after controlling for baseline sample characteristics, depressive symptoms (T1), and insomnia symptoms (T2). This longitudinal relationship was observed in both male (<i>β</i> = -0.009, 95% CI: -0.012 to -0.006) and female (<i>β</i> = -0.011, 95% CI: -0.013 to -0.009) participants. These findings enhance our understanding of the mechanisms by which chronotype affects college students' depressive symptoms, providing valuable insights for developing targeted interventions, such as stress-management workshops, to mitigate depression risk, especially among students with evening chronotypes.