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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Adolescent and Young Adult Psychiatry
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1500238
This article is part of the Research Topic Youth Mental Health, Particularly in Asian Populations View all 43 articles

Sleep Patterns and Smartphone Use Among Left-Behind Children: A Latent Class Analysis and Its Association with Depressive Symptoms

Provisionally accepted
Xue Han Xue Han 1Cheng-Han Li Cheng-Han Li 2Heng Miao Heng Miao 3Su Xu Su Xu 4Wen-Jing Yan Wen-Jing Yan 3*
  • 1 Wenzhou Seventh People’s Hospital, Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, China
  • 2 Third Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, China
  • 3 Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, China
  • 4 Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Left-behind children in China face challenges in sleep patterns, technology use, and mental health. This study uses an individual-centered approach to derive behavioral profiles associated with depressive symptoms. Methods: Data from 131,586 left-behind children aged 8 to 18 years from the Chinese Psychological Health Guard for Children and Adolescents Project were analyzed. Participants were recruited from 569 centers across schools, community institutes, orphanages, and children's hospitals throughout China. Latent class analysis was conducted using weekday and weekend sleep duration and smartphone use as indicators. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Results: Four distinct classes emerged: Sufficient Sleep Low Users (23.6%), Moderate Sleep Medium Users (25.2%), Limited Sleep High Users (22.1%), and Healthy Sleep Low Users (29.2%). Significant differences in CES-D scores were found between classes (F(3, 131579) = 4929, p < .001, η² = 0.101). The Limited Sleep High Users class reported the highest levels of depressive symptoms (M = 11.60, SE = 0.0658), while the Sufficient Sleep Low Users class reported the lowest (M = 3.67, SE = 0.0346). A linear relationship between sleep duration and depressive symptoms was observed. Significant weekday-weekend differences in smartphone use were noted in the unhealthy categories. Conclusions: This study reveals complex associations between sleep patterns, smartphone use, and depressive symptoms among left-behind children. The identified behavioral profiles provide insights into population heterogeneity and inform targeted intervention strategies. Findings emphasize the importance of addressing both sleep and technology use in mental health initiatives for this vulnerable population.

    Keywords: Sleep patterns, Smartphone use, depressive symptoms, latent class analysis, Leftbehind children

    Received: 23 Sep 2024; Accepted: 18 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Han, Li, Miao, Xu and Yan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Wen-Jing Yan, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325035, Zhejiang Province, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.