Sleep‐related problems as a mediator in the association between depression and work–family conflict in middle‐aged female workers: A population‐based study

AIM: To investigate the mediating effect of sleep‐related problems on the relationship between depression and work–family conflicts (WFCs) among middle‐aged female workers. DESIGN: Secondary analysis of cross‐sectional study. METHODS: Overall, 15,718 female workers aged 40–65 years from the Sixth Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS) were included. Depression was assessed using the WHO‐5 wellbeing index; sleep‐related problems and WFCs were measured with five items on a Likert scale. The mediating effect of sleep‐related problems between depression and WFCs was analysed using model 4 of Hayes PROCESS macro for SPSS. RESULTS: There was a significant positive correlation between depression and both sleep‐related problems (r = 0.225, p < 0.001) and WFCs (r = 0.124, p < 0.001). Depression also had a significant effect on sleep‐related problems (β = 0.221, p < 0.001) and WFCs (β=0.061, p < 0.001). Sleep‐related problems had a significant effect on WFCs (β = 0.282, p < 0.001). The indirect effect of depression on WFCs by mediating sleep‐related problems was β = 0.062 (95% bootstrap confidence interval = 0.057–0.068). The study also confirmed the significance of the mediating effect of sleep‐related problems in the relationship between depression and WFCs.