Emotion Regulation and Depressive Symptoms Mediate the Association between Chronotype and Suicidality

Apr 10, 2026Acta neuropsychiatrica

How Sleep Timing May Relate to Suicidal Thoughts Through Emotion Control and Depression

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Abstract

Eveningness is associated with higher suicidality through poorer emotion regulation and increased depressive symptoms.

Chronotype does not directly affect suicidality.
Individuals with eveningness tendencies reported poorer emotion regulation.
Poor emotion regulation is linked to increased depressive symptoms.
Depressive symptoms predict suicidal ideation, which is a significant predictor of suicide attempts.
The sequential pathway from eveningness to suicidality was significant only for evening-types, not morning-types.

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OBJECTIVE: Emotion regulation, while closely linked to depressive symptoms, has seldom been examined together with them in studies of the relationship between chronotype and suicidality. We therefore examined whether chronotype predicts suicidality through the sequential mediation of poor emotion regulation and depressive symptoms. In addition, we examined whether these mediation pathways differ between morningness and eveningness groups.

METHODS: This study included 3,109 Korean adults from the general population. Chronotype, depressive symptoms, emotion regulation, and suicidality were assessed using the Composite Scale of Morningness, Self-Rating Depression Scale, Emotion Regulation Skills Questionnaire, and the Suicidality module of the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, respectively.

RESULTS: Chronotype did not have a direct effect on suicidality. Instead, eveningness was indirectly linked to higher suicidality. Specifically, individuals with stronger eveningness tendencies reported poorer emotion regulation, which increased depressive symptoms; depression, in turn, predicted suicidal ideation, which emerged as a significant predictor of suicide attempts. Subgroup analyses revealed that the same sequential pathway was significant only among evening-types, but not among morning-types.

CONCLUSIONS: Chronotype appears to play a role in suicide risk in the general population. Screening for chronotype and focusing on emotion regulation and depression may enhance prevention efforts tailored to chronotype, especially for evening-type individuals.

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Emotion Regulation and Depressive Symptoms Mediate the Association between Chronotype and Suicidality

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