School connectedness and deviant peer affiliation among Chinese adolescents: the mediating role of sleep problems

Previous studies have documented the negative association between school connectedness and deviant peer affiliation among adolescents. The potential mediating mechanisms linking school connectedness to deviant peer affiliation, however, have not fully examined. Thus, the present study aimed to examine the potential mediating effect of sleep problems on the association between school connectedness and deviant peer affiliation in a sample of 1010 adolescents (44% male; mean age = 14.95 ± 1.69 years) from southern China. Adolescents self-reported measures on school connectedness, sleep problems, and deviant peer affiliation. Results showed that there was a statistically significant indirect effect of school connectedness on deviant peer affiliation through sleep problems, and such an indirect effect was consistent across gender. These results may facilitate the understanding of the potential mechanisms contributing to the development of deviant peer affiliation in adolescents.