Are there Gender Differences in the Association between Mental Health and Insomnia? Evidence from Network Analyses

Abstract

The research intended to explore how the symptom network that connects depression, anxiety, stress, and insomnia can be explained based on the 3P model and psychological pathological network theory. Cross-sectional survey on 629 subjects was carried out through the use of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21) and the Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS). To determine the overall structure of the symptoms and to identify the gender differences, the network analysis was used. The findings revealed a high interrelatedness between depression, anxiety, stress, and insomnia, and daytime well-being and uneasiness as some of the most central symptoms. There was also a gender difference in the network structure; female subjects had higher levels of anxiety symptoms, and male subjects reported higher levels of depressive symptoms. Finally, the relationships between these mental health symptoms and insomnia are different across genders, where depression has a higher effect on insomnia in men, and anxiety has a higher effect on insomnia in women. These results imply gender-based intervention goals in treating insomnia.