The longitudinal relationship between sleep problems and school burnout in adolescents: A cross-lagged panel analysis

Introduction: Despite the growing body of cross-sectional research linking sleep problems and school burnout, hardly any research has investigated the longitudinal relationship between these two constructs. The aim of this study was to examine the bidirectional association between sleep problems and school burnout in middle school students. Methods: A prospective design was used incorporating four time points (approximately 6-month interval). The participants were 1226 (50.3% girls) middle school students from 4 public schools who were in 7th grade at baseline. On average, participants were approximately 12.5 years old at the beginning of the study (Mage = 12.73, SD = 0.68). All participants completed selfreport measures in classrooms during regular school hours. The data were analyzed using a crosslagged structural equation model. We also examined the stability of sleep problems and school burnout in time, and investigated the moderating role of gender. Results: The results indicated there is a moderate stability for both sleep problems and school burnout, and those students with sleep problems were more likely to develop school burnout, and vice versa. Gender did not moderate the bidirectional relationship. Conclusions: These results suggest that future studies should investigate whether implementing intervention for sleep problems can decrease the occurrence of school burnout and whether interventions targeting school burnout can improve sleep problems.