Associations among screen time, depressive symptoms and sleep in early adolescents: A sex-disaggregated cross-lagged network analysis.

Background: Prior research has established associations among screen time, depressive symptoms, and sleep. However, the nuances of these associations, particularly regarding directionality and sex-specific differences among early adolescents, remain insufficiently understood. This study aimed to investigate sex differences in the longitudinal associations among screen time, depressive symptoms, and sleep at the symptom level during early adolescence.

Methods: Our cohort consisted of 2987 students (1451 boys at T1; Mage = 10.52 years), who were assessed twice over six-month intervals. Sex-stratified analyses in the network associations among screen time, depressive symptoms, and sleep were examined via a cross-lagged panel network modeling approach.

Results: The results revealed that depressive symptoms such as "feeling unloved" for boys and "sadness" for girls were the most central symptoms with the greatest influence on other symptoms. Furthermore, depressive symptoms such as "crying" and "loneliness" for boys and "self-hatred" and "loneliness" for girls may act as bridge symptoms, significantly forecasting excessive screen time after six months.

Conclusions: Our findings bolster the compensatory internet use theory by suggesting that screen time may function as a coping mechanism for managing depressive symptoms and sleep problems. These findings advance our comprehension of the evolving dynamics among screen time, depressive symptoms, and sleep across sexes over time. The development of targeted prevention and intervention strategies that accommodate these sex differences could be instrumental in curtailing the onset or intensification of problematic screen use among early adolescents.