Does later chronotype cause poorer adolescent mental health? An Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

This study investigated whether chronotype (biobehavioral preference for sleep and wake timing) across early adolescence impacts mental health symptoms at age 13-14. This is a relationship with growing correlational evidence but limited causal exploration.

Methods

Participants were 7,489 adolescents (aged 9-10 at baseline; 13-14 at the fifth assessment wave) from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (ABCD). Marginal structural models with machine learning-based weight estimation were used to assess the causal impact of chronotype at ages 11-12 and 12-13, as measured by the youth-reported Munich Chronotype Questionnaire, on several dimensions of mental health symptoms at age 13-14 (parent-reported Child Behavioral Checklist internalizing and externalizin

SUBMITTER: Visontay R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12633149 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature