Insomnia and Depression in Chinese Academic Researchers: Mediation by Anxiety and Resilience with Differences among Researchers by Educational Level

Lin Han¹Yuanrui He¹Botao Gong¹Tingfeng Liu¹Puqiao Wen¹Mingjun Zhong¹Qinshuo Ren¹Hui Wang^2*Xudong Chen^1*

• ¹Mental Health Institute, Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
• ²Hunan University of Chinese Medicine School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Changsha, China

Mental health issues such as insomnia may exhibit unique interaction patterns among high-stress populations, with educational attainment potentially playing a distinctive role. However, the current mental health status of researchers at the forefront of scientific advancement has not garnered widespread attention. This study tested whether anxiety and psychological resilience jointly mediate the association between insomnia and depressive symptoms among Chinese researchers, and whether these pathways are moderated by educational attainment. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among researchers from 19 provinces in China between September and November 2023, and valid responses from 645 participants were analyzed using the Insomnia Severity Index, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 as a measure of generalized anxiety symptoms, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, and the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale. Partial correlation and chain mediation analysis were applied to examine the relationships between insomnia, anxiety, resilience, and depression, while multi-group structural equation modeling (SEM) assessed differences between researchers with and without doctoral degrees. The results showed that the proportion meeting the ISI screening threshold (≥8) was higher in researchers aged ≥40 and in those with doctoral degrees. In mediation models, insomnia severity demonstrated a direct association with depressive symptoms (effect: 38.31%) and indirect associations via anxiety and resilience (total effect: 61.69%). Specifically, the chain mediation effect formed by anxiety and resilience showed a suppressing effect of 0.66%, while the independent mediating effects of anxiety and resilience were 64.36% (enhancing effect) and 2.01% (suppressing effect), respectively. Multi-group SEM analyses further revealed stronger anxiety-resilience-depression linkages in researchers without doctoral degrees, highlighting their heightened vulnerability. Overall, insomnia is centrally associated with depression among researchers through a dual pathway involving anxiety and resilience, with the protective role of resilience being more complex among non-doctoral researchers, underscoring the need for targeted interventions such as sleep hygiene programs and resilience training to mitigate mental health risks in academic settings.