The overlapping region in right hippocampus accounting for the link between trait anxiety and procrastination

Subclinical Psychiatric Symptomatology and a Proposed Diagnostic Criterion Separating Psychopathological Procrastinators From Trait Procrastinators

Procrastination trait describes irrational delays of scheduled tasks despite clear awareness of the adverse consequences of doing so. Although procrastination is well-known to be linked to psychiatric or pathological processes, the criterion for "psychopathological procrastination" distinguishing from the procrastination trait is understudied. This is a 5-year longitudinal observational study. Participants (N = 464) completed measures of trait procrastination in 2018, with a follow-up conducted in 2023 (N = 267) collecting subclinical symptomatology. A constrained multivariate direct gradient model (cmDGM) was employed to prospectively predict subclinical psychiatric symptomatology formulated by the DSM-5 framework. The two-stage psychopathological connectome model was then constructed to constitute a "diagnostic criterion" reflecting "psychopathological procrastination." Procrastination prospectively predicted subclinical psychopathological symptoms and unhealthy lifestyles. Subclinical bridge hubs of "failure to self-regulate delays," "failure to control adverse consequences," "useless to self-change," "out-of-control irruptions," "poor sleep quality," and "negative emotional reactions" were identified in the two-stage psychopathological network. These hubs constituted the 9-item pathological procrastination diagnostic criterion (3PDC) with good diagnostic performance (AUC = 0.82, p < 0.01). The present study revealed the predictive role of procrastination for subclinical psychiatric symptomatology and further established the subclinical 3PDC to lay the foundation for the "diagnostics of psychopathological procrastinators."

Improvement in anxiety symptoms during treatment of Hepatitis C in people who inject drugs: The HERO study

BACKGROUND

Anxiety disorders frequently occur in people who inject drugs (PWID). This study aimed to explore changes in anxiety among PWID during and after treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) with direct-acting antiviral agents.

METHODS

This study is a secondary analysis using a sample (N = 498) based on the per-protocol data from the HERO study, a multisite pragmatic randomized trial. Anxiety among PWID was measured using the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorders (GAD-7) scale. Linear mixed-effects models were used to analyze changes in anxiety across multiple timepoints (baseline and end-of-treatment follow-up weeks 12, 24, 48, 120, and 168) stratified by sustained virologic response (SVR) status, baseline anxiety categories, and baseline benzodiazepine use.

RESULTS

Anxiety significantly decreased overall during the study period (p < 0.001) except at week 48. A significant reduction in anxiety was also observed among those with SVR (p < 0.05 at all time points from baseline), but not among those without SVR. The baseline anxiety categories differed significantly with respect to the changes in anxiety scores over the study period (p < 0.001). Reductions of anxiety scores from baseline were significantly lower at all timepoints for the moderate and severe anxiety categories. Anxiety scores were significantly greater among people who tested positive for benzodiazepines at baseline versus those negative at baseline at all later time points (p < 0.05) except at week 24.

CONCLUSIONS

Following curative treatment of HCV in PWID, symptoms of generalized anxiety showed durable improvement through 168 weeks and among patients with moderate to severe anxiety. Those who used benzodiazepines at baseline showed elevated anxiety in the follow-up period.

Maladaptive perfectionism can explain the inverse relationship between dispositional mindfulness and procrastination

Given the widespread occurrence of procrastination and its adverse association with well-being, investigating the individual variables that influence procrastination is a crucial matter. Previous research has identified dispositional mindfulness to be negatively associated with procrastination, but the underlying mechanisms driving this relationship remain unclear. In this study, the aim was to investigate whether the inverse relationship between dispositional mindfulness and procrastination could be explained by the mediating roles of trait anxiety and maladaptive perfectionism. In a cross-sectional survey, 126 participants (aged 18-33) completed the 15-Item Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Trait Form, the Almost Perfect Scale-Revised, and the Pure Procrastination Scale. A parallel mediation model was tested to investigate the mediating role of self-reported maladaptive perfectionism and trait anxiety to explain the relationship between dispositional mindfulness and procrastination with a bootstrapped multivariate technique. The results revealed that maladaptive perfectionism significantly mediated the relationship between mindfulness and procrastination -indicating that dispositional mindfulness has a significant indirect effect on procrastination via decreased levels of maladaptive perfectionism. It was determined that 15% of the variance in procrastination was significantly explained by this model (R2 = .15, β =  -.39, B =  -.83, 95% CI =  [-1.18, -.48], p < .001]. As the study highlights the importance of maladaptive perfectionism to explain the link between mindfulness and procrastination, we suggest that future research could investigate the influence of mindfulness on procrastination via mindfulness-based interventions, and include measurements of both trait anxiety and maladaptive perfectionism across longitudinal or experimental designs to unpack causality with respect to our pattern of observed findings.

The relationship between time anxiety and college students' sleep quality: the mediating role of irrational procrastination and the moderating effect of physical activity

Background

Poor sleep quality has become one of the most pressing public issues among Chinese college students, with an increasing incidence rate in recent years. Although some studies showed that anxiety is related to sleep quality, the relationship between time anxiety (which is a more concrete manifestation of anxiety in the temporal dimension) and sleep quality, as well as its potential mechanisms, still requires further investigation and analysis. This study aimed to explore the relationship between time anxiety and sleep quality among college students, and to examine the mediating role of irrational procrastination and the moderating effect of physical activity.

Methodology

A cross-sectional study was conducted with 1,137 participants recruited from four universities in eastern, western, and central China. They completed a questionnaire survey on time anxiety, irrational procrastination, physical activity, and sleep quality. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 26.0 and PROCESS 3.3.

Results

Time anxiety had a significant positive impact on sleep quality (β = 0.28, t = 9.95, p < 0.001). Irrational procrastination played a mediating role between time anxiety and college students' sleep quality, the effect value was 0.05, and the intermediary effect accounted for 19.26%. Physical activity moderated the direct effect of time anxiety on college students' sleep quality (β = -0.08, t = -2.98, p < 0.01), and moderated the second half path of irrational procrastination mediation model (β = -0.06, t = -2.12, p < 0.05).

Conclusion

Higher levels of time anxiety are associated with poorer sleep quality among college students. Time anxiety not only directly affects college students' sleep quality, but also indirectly affects it through irrational procrastination. Conducting physical activities can mitigate the impact of time anxiety and irrational procrastination on college students' sleep quality.

The Effect of Trait Anxiety on Bedtime Procrastination: the Mediating Role of Self-Control

BACKGROUND

Bedtime procrastination (BP), a special type of health behavior procrastination, is considered to be a failure of self-control. Notably, self-control may mediate the effect of trait anxiety on general procrastination. However, there is no evidence demonstrating the role of self-control in the relationship between trait anxiety and BP. Moreover, the association between BP and trait anxiety has not yet been thoroughly studied. Therefore, the present study aimed to explore the direct relationship between them as well as the mediating role of self-control in this relationship.

METHODS

This cross-sectional survey included 718 college students enrolled in Chinese universities between October 2018 and January 2020. The Chinese versions of the Bedtime Procrastination Scale, the Self-Control Scale, and the Trait Anxiety Inventory were used to evaluate BP, self-control, and trait anxiety, respectively.

RESULTS

Multiple linear regression analysis revealed trait anxiety independently predicted BP while controlling for demographic characteristics. Correlation analyses showed that BP was positively correlated with trait anxiety, but negatively related to self-control. Structural equation modeling further revealed a mediating role of self-control in the relationship between trait anxiety and BP.

CONCLUSIONS

Trait anxiety is a significant independent predictor of BP and may induce BP directly or indirectly through the effect of self-control. These findings provide a deeper understanding of the relationship between trait anxiety and BP and the underlying mechanism by exploring the mediating effect of self-control. As such, trait anxiety and self-control should be included in prevention and intervention strategies to address BP behavior in college students.

Fear of Missing Out and Irrational Procrastination in the Mobile Social Media Environment: A Moderated Mediation Analysis

This study explored the relationship between Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) and irrational procrastination in a mobile social media environment and its underlying mechanism: the mediating role of cognitive failure. The study was conducted with 817 college students using the FoMO Scale, Irrational Procrastination Scale, Cognitive Failures Questionnaire, and Self-Control Scale. The results showed that (a) FoMO positively predicted irrational procrastination in the mobile social media environment; (b) cognitive failure had a complete mediating effect on the relationship between FoMO and irrational procrastination; and (c) self-control had a moderating effect on the relationship between FoMO and cognitive failure.