The influence of neuroticism on insomnia: The chain mediating effect of mind wandering and symptom rumination

Insomnia is a major public health issue worldwide. An association between neuroticism and insomnia has been widely confirmed, but its psychological mechanisms are unclear. A total of 1790 online participants completed the Big Five Personality Inventory, Athens Insomnia Scale, Chinese version of the Mind Wandering Questionnaire, and Chinese version of the Nolen-Hoeksema Ruminative Responses Scale. The relationship between neuroticism and insomnia was analyzed using correlation and mediation analyses, and the mediating effect of mind wandering and rumination symptoms was investigated. Research findings indicated significant positive correlations (r > 0.464, p < 0.001) among neuroticism, mind wandering, symptom rumination, and insomnia. Furthermore, mediation analysis revealed that neuroticism exerted a significant direct effect on insomnia and an indirect effect through mind wandering and symptom rumination (estimate = 0.372, SE = 0.031, p < 0.001). Additionally, both mind wandering (estimate = 0.361, SE = 0.038, p < 0.001) and symptom rumination (estimate = 0.759, SE = 0.046, p < 0.001) independently mediated the relationship between neuroticism and insomnia. Cross-sectional studies are difficult to establish causal relationships between study variables, and self-report questionnaire assessments have some recall bias, selection bias. Mind wandering and symptom rumination induced by neuroticism were risk factors for insomnia. Interventions targeting mind wandering and symptom rumination may block this pathway, providing new insights for the development of insomnia interventions.