0109 The Impact of Pubertal Development on Children’s Chronotype, Sleep and Changes in Mental Health

Abstract Introduction Approximately 70% of adolescents do not obtain the required amount or quality of sleep expected for healthy functioning (Wheaton et al., 2018). Deficient sleep is so pervasive for adolescents that it could be considered an epidemic due to its adverse impact on mental and physical health (Shochat et al., 2014). Pubertal development tends to result in children’s delayed sleep phase, which has been linked to deficient sleep and greater psychosocial problems (Crowley et al., 2018; Owens et al., 2014). However, there is a paucity of research that has longitudinally examined these inter-related constructs. Accordingly, this study examined the longitudinal role of children’s pubertal development on their subsequent chronotype, sleep, and well-being. Methods Data were collected through the Adolescent Brain & Cognitive Development study (2021, release 4.0) and included waves 2 (48.7% female; Mchild_age=10.95 years, SD=.67) and 3 (Mchild_age=12.02, SD=.67). A total of 5949 children had their sleep duration and variability recorded at wave 3 with Fitbit watches, which were worn across an average of 13.8 nights (SD=9.9). At waves 2 and 3, parents reported on their child’s mental health with the Child Behavioral Checklist (Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001). Children self-reported on their pubertal development (Peterson et al., 1988) at wave 2 and their chronotype at wave 3 (Roenneberg et al., 2003). Most participants identified as white (52.4%), with another 24.0% identifying as Hispanic/Latinx, 13.4% identifying as Black, 5.9% American Indian/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, and 4.2% as multi-race. The families were economically diverse with 21.5% reporting family incomes of <$25,000 and 6.8% with incomes of >$200,000. Results Mediation analyses, conducted using Mplus (v.8.8, Muthén & Muthén, 2022), examined if pubertal development at wave 2 predicted residual change in children’s mental health via the mediating variables of chronotype and both sleep duration and variability. Children’s age, sex, body mass index, and socio-economic status were included as covariates. Model fit was excellent. Results suggested greater pubertal development indirectly predicted increases in children’s mental health problems via chronotype (i.e., greater eveningness) and longer sleep duration and greater sleep variability. Conclusion Given typical changes to children’s sleep during puberty, findings highlight the critical connections to their mental health. Support (if any)