Relationship between chronotypes and aggression in adolescents: a cross-sectional study

• Published in: BMC psychiatry 2023-03, Vol.23 (1), p.214-214, Article 214
• Main Authors: Wang, Yuan, Liu, Hao, Wang, Yan-Rong, Wei, Jia, Zhao, Ran-Ran, Fang, Jian-Qun
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescents; Age groups; Aggression; Aggressive behavior; Aggressiveness; Aggressiveness (Psychology); Analysis; Anger; Biological clocks; Chi-square test; Children & youth; Chronotype; Circadian Rhythm; Circadian rhythm sleep disorders; Circadian rhythms; Correlation analysis; Cross-Sectional Studies; Cross-sectional study; Graduate students; Hostility; Humans; Learning; Mann-Whitney U test; Mental development; Personality; Personality traits; Prevention; Psychiatry; Questionnaires; Risk factors; Schools; Sleep; Social behavior; Standard scores; Statistical analysis; Surveys and Questionnaires; Teenagers
• ISSN: 1471-244X; 1471-244X
• DOI: 10.1186/s12888-023-04615-0

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between chronotypes and aggression in adolescents. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 755 primary and secondary school students aged 11-16 years in rural areas of Ningxia Province, China. The Chinese version of the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (AQ-CV) and the Chinese version Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ-CV) were used to assess the aggressive behavior and chronotypes of the study subjects. The Kruskal-Wallis test was then used to compare the differences in aggression among adolescents with different chronotypes, and Spearman correlation analysis to determine the relationship between chronotypes and aggression. Further linear regression analysis was used to investigate the effects of chronotype, personality traits, family environment, and class environment on adolescent aggression. There were significant differences in chronotypes between different age groups and different sexes. Spearman correlation analysis showed that the MEQ-CV total score was negatively correlated with the AQ-CV total score (r = -0.263) and score of each AQ-CV subscale. In Model 1, chronotypes were negatively associated with aggression when controlling for age and sex, and evening-type adolescents might be more likely to exhibit aggressive behavior (b = -0.513, 95% CI: [-0.712, -0.315], P