AUTHOR=Ma Zhihao , Zhao Fouxi , Wang Yiying , Liu Tao , Chao Naipeng 

TITLE=Network Analysis of Time Use and Depressive Symptoms Among Emerging Adults: Findings From the Guizhou Population Health Cohort Study

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychiatry

VOLUME=Volume 13 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.809745

DOI=10.3389/fpsyt.2022.809745

ISSN=1664-0640

ABSTRACT=Background: To date, the relationships between diverse time use behaviors and depression status among emerging adults have not been disentangled in the literature. Therefore, whether and how the time displacement mechanism activates depressive symptoms among emerging adults remains unclear. 
Methods: To fill this gap in the literature, we employed a network analysis to make estimations. The emerging adult sample (N = 1,811) was collected by the Guizhou Population Health Cohort Study, time use behaviors were measured by an adaption of the self-administered International Physical Activity Questionnaire, and depressive symptoms were assessed using the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire. 
Results: The results revealed that the time displacement mechanism of emerging adults differed from that of adolescents. Sleep duration was not crowded out by other activities, while the time spent on computer use was found to be negatively related to time spent on heavy work activities. Moreover, computer use behavior triggered three depressive symptoms (“Anhedonia,” “Guilt,” and “Motor”), but inhibited “Suicide.” The results of the directed acyclic graph revealed that being female and being a heavy drinker were risk factors for depression. 
Limitations: This study sample was confine to only one province may limit its generalizability. The cross-sectional design impeded the ability of causal inferences.
Conclusions: Our results enhance the current understanding of the internal mechanism of how time use behavior influences depressive symptoms among emerging adults.