Assessing the Relationship between Chronotype and Cognitive Failures in Adolescent Students

Abstract

Chronotype refers to an individual's natural preference for the timing of sleep, wakefulness, and peak alertness. Adolescence is a developmental period during which changes in sleep–wake patterns may interact with academic demands and everyday cognitive functioning. The present study examined the relationship between chronotype and everyday cognitive failures among high school students. A quantitative, cross-sectional correlational design was demonstrated using a simulated dataset of 112 high school students. Chronotype was assessed using the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ), and everyday cognitive failures were assessed using the 25-item Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ). CFQ scores were additionally classified into lower, middle, and higher sample-based groups using tertiles. Pearson's product-moment correlation was used to examine the association between continuous MEQ and CFQ scores overall and separately across four chronotype groups, while an independent-samples t-test was used to examine gender differences in cognitive-failure scores.Overall, MEQ scores showed a significant negative correlation with CFQ scores, r = −.32, p = .001. Significant negative correlations were observed within the Morning group, r = −.52, p = .004, and Moderately Morning group, r = −.45, p = .017. The relationship within the Intermediate group was not statistically significant, r = −.09, p = .642, whereas the Evening group demonstrated a significant positive correlation, r = .50, p = .007. Sample-based CFQ tertiles yielded mean scores of 33.11, 40.40, and 49.33 for the lower, middle, and higher groups, respectively. Gender differences in CFQ scores were also statistically significant, t(110) = −2.33, p = .022, with males obtaining a lower mean score (M = 39.28, SD = 6.81) than females (M = 42.47, SD = 7.68). The findings demonstrate the application of continuous correlation, subgroup analysis, sample-based classification, and gender comparison in examining chronotype and everyday cognitive failure. The findings demonstrate the application of continuous correlation, sample-based classification, and gender-comparison procedures in examining chronotype and everyday cognitive failures.