0051 Social Jetlag is Associated with Greater Depressive Symptoms among Female Adolescents

Abstract

Introduction: Depressive symptoms are threefold among female compared to male adolescents (19.5% vs. 5.8%). Social jetlag (SJL), the misalignment between the sleep schedule imposed by social obligations (i.e., work or school) and sleep timing on free days, is associated with increased depressive symptoms. One hypothesis that helps explain sex differences in depressive symptoms is that the association between SJL and depressive symptoms is larger for females. We studied whether SJL was associated with depressive symptoms in adolescents, and whether this association differed between sexes. Methods: Cross-sectional, self-reported data were analyzed from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (n=2,931). SJL (in hours) was calculated as the midpoint of sleep on the weekend minus the midpoint of sleep on school nights. Depressive symptoms were assessed by the 5-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D scale); higher scores indicate more depressive symptoms (range=1?4). Linear regression models adjusted for age, body mass index, ethnicity, youth work hours, number of other children in household, household income and structure, and primary caregiver employment status and education. Results: Sex moderated the association between SJL and depressive symptoms, beta=-0.08, p=.004. Stratified by sex, greater SJL was associated with increased depressive symptoms in females, beta=0.10, p