Bedtime procrastination in the relationship between self-control and depressive symptoms in medical students: From the perspective of sex differences

A Hybrid SEM-ANN Approach to Investigate the Internet Addiction Among University Students Based on Psychological Resilience Theory and Cognitive-Behavioral Theory

The internet is now essential in college students' lives, but its overuse is turning into a worldwide issue, notably with rising internet addiction among students. Earlier studies have mainly explored the risk factors of internet addiction, yielding various findings. This study aims to delve into the key factors affecting internet addiction among university students by integrating the theory of psychological resilience with cognitive-behavioral theory. It thoroughly analyzes how self-control, emotional regulation, social support, perceived stress, and psychological resilience influence internet addiction and explores their interactions and underlying mechanisms. The study conveniently selected 999 university students for a survey to measure their self-reported ratings on six constructs: self-control, emotional regulation, perceived stress, psychological resilience, social support, and internet addiction. Employing a Structural Equation Modeling - Artificial Neural Network (SEM-ANN) approach, the study unveiled complex and non-linear relationships between predictors and internet addiction. Results indicated that self-control and psychological resilience significantly reduce internet addiction, while perceived stress notably increases the risk. Notably, emotional regulation and social support did not directly lower the risk of internet addiction. Further analysis revealed that psychological resilience plays a mediating role between self-control, emotional regulation, social support, and internet addiction. Additionally, multilayer perceptron analysis of normalized importance showed self-control as the most critical predictive factor (100%), followed by emotional regulation (9.1%), social support (8.4%), and psychological resilience (5.4%). The study contributes theoretical and practical insights into internet addiction among university students.

Parental psychological control and depression, anxiety among adolescents: The mediating role of bedtime procrastination and moderating role of neuroticism

Studies have shown that maladaptive parenting styles, particularly parental psychological control may be an important risk factor for emotional problems in adolescence. However, the potential mechanisms behind this association are still not fully understood. To fill the research gap, this study investigated the relationship between parental psychological control and depression and anxiety among adolescents. It also explored the mediating effect of bedtime procrastination and the moderating effect of neuroticism through a moderated mediation analysis. A sample of 665 adolescents (331 girls) were recruited from two secondary schools in southern China. All participants completed standardized self-report questionnaires measuring the severity of parental psychological control, bedtime procrastination, depression, anxiety, and neuroticism. Data were analyzed using SPSS 25.0 and PROCESS macros. The results indicated that parental psychological control had a positive predictive effect on depression and anxiety among adolescents. Bedtime procrastination partially mediated the relationship between parental psychological control and depression, as well as parental psychological control and anxiety. Neuroticism was found to play a moderating role in the path from bedtime procrastination to depression and from bedtime procrastination to anxiety, with these effects being stronger for adolescents with higher levels of neuroticism. This study advances a deeper understanding of how and when or for whom parental psychological control is related to adolescents' severe depression and anxiety. Our findings suggest that intervention programs or strategies aimed at reducing parental psychological control and assisting adolescents in establishing healthy sleep hygiene practices should be developed to decrease the risk of depression and anxiety in adolescents.

Postponing sleep after a stressful day: Patterns of stress, bedtime procrastination, and sleep outcomes in a daily diary approach

Sleep problems and stress are common among students and are associated with negative effects on academic performance as well as mental and physical health risks, but studies exploring mediating factors between stress and sleep on a daily basis are scarce. This study aimed to investigate the relationship of daily stress, Bedtime procrastination (BP) (i.e., postponing bedtime without external reasons), and sleep outcomes controlling for trait factors such as self-control. N = 96 students at a German university (M = 22.2 years, SD = 4.0) wore a sleep-tracking wearable (Fitbit Charge HR) for two weeks to assess sleep duration and to calculate the gap between the intended time to go to sleep and the objectively measured time of falling asleep. Stress, intended time to go to sleep, and sleep quality were assessed via daily diaries. Established questionnaires were used to measure trait self-control, trait BP, and smartphone addiction. Multilevel analyses indicated that more stress experienced during the day was associated with more BP (b = 2.32, p = 0.008), shorter sleep duration (b = -3.46, p = 0.003), and lower sleep quality (b = 1.03, p = 0.005) after controlling for several trait factors. The association of daily stress with sleep outcomes (quality and duration) was partly mediated by BP. Our findings indicate that BP might be one factor that contributes to stress-linked decreases in sleep duration and quality. Potential reasons for stress-related later time to fall asleep-like higher physiological arousal or stress-related worries-should be investigated in future studies.

Procrastination Mediates the Relationship between Problematic TikTok Use and Depression among Young Adults

Background: Although the prevalence of depression has increased significantly in recent years, especially in the young adult population, little is known about its causes and risk factors. The study aims to examine the mediating role of TikTok use in the relationships between procrastination and depression in young adults. Methods: A sample of 448 adults, ranging in age from 18 to 35 years (M = 24.45, SD = 3.76), including 214 men (48%), participated in the study. The cross-sectional survey consists of a modified Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale (BFAS) to assess problematic TikTok use (PTTU), the Pure Procrastination Scale (PPS) for procrastination measurement, and the nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) for screening depression symptoms. Results: The independent samples t-test indicates that emerging adults (ages ranging between 18 and 25 years) have more severe depression symptoms than young adults (26-35 years old). Gender differences were not found for procrastination, PTTU, and depression symptoms. Positive correlations were found between procrastination, PTTU, and depression symptoms. PTTU plays a mediating role in the associations between procrastination and depression. Conclusions: Both procrastination and PTTU treatment should be prioritized in the prevention and intervention programs for improving mental health among young adults. Some effective therapeutic methods are recommended.

Development and validation of the while-in-bed-smartphone-use-induced sleep procrastination scale (WSPS) in Chinese undergraduates with/without problematic smartphone use

PURPOSE

Problematic smartphone use (PSU) has become a global public health problem. Excessive while-in-bed smartphone use may result in sleep procrastination and other negative outcomes. The present study aimed to develop and validate a new scale called WSPS to assess while-in-bed-smartphone-use-induced sleep procrastination among undergraduates.

METHODS

In total, 910 Chinese undergraduates completed the collection of WSPS, smartphone addiction scale-short version (SAS-SV), bedtime procrastination scale, Pittsburgh sleep quality index, and Zung self-rating depression scale. The whole sample were randomly splited in the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) sample (n = 455) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) sample (n = 455). 40 undergraduates with PSU (SAS-SV > 31) and 40 without PSU were asked to keep sleep diary for 2 weeks and complete the WSPS again.

RESULTS

EFA and CFA supported a six-item unidimensional structure of the WSPS. The WSPS demonstrated acceptable internal consistency among undergraduates. The WSPS showed good concurrent validity with other relevant variables including PSU, BP, sleep quality, and depression. Scalar invariance of the WSPS between undergraduates with/without PSU was supported, as well as scalar invariance across gender. The WSPS showed good convergent validity with self-report everyday while-in-bed smartphone use duration and good discriminant validity with sleep duration and sleep onset latency recorded by sleep diary. The WSPS also presented good test-retest reliability among undergraduates with/without PSU.

CONCLUSION

The WSPS is a reliable and valid measure of while-in-bed-smartphone-use-induced sleep procrastination in undergraduates with/without PSU.

Association between impulsivity and cognitive capacity decrease is mediated by smartphone addiction, academic procrastination, bedtime procrastination, sleep insufficiency and daytime fatigue among medical students: a path analysis

BACKGROUND

Medical students are at high risk for sleep disturbance. One possible cause of their sleeping problem is impulsivity. We aim to investigate the possible mediators between medical students' impulsivity and sleep outcomes. Thus, we developed and investigated a model where the predictors were attentional, non-planning, and motor impulsivity subtraits. In the final model, subjective cognitive capacity decrease was the outcome variable. In light of previous findings, academic procrastination, smartphone addiction, and bedtime procrastination were considered important mediators as well as two variables of poor sleep, sleeping insufficiency, and daytime fatigue.

METHODS

Medical students (N = 211; age_M = 22.15 years; age_SD = 3.47 years; 71.6% women) were recruited to complete an online survey comprised of demographics (age, gender), self-administered scales (Abbreviated Impulsiveness Scale, Bedtime Procrastination Scale, Abbreviated Impulsiveness Scale, Academic Procrastination Scale-Short Form) and questions on tiredness, daily fatigue and subjective cognitive capacity decrease. Correlation and path analyses were implemented to examine hypothesized relationships between the variables.

RESULTS

Both attentional impulsivity (β = 0.33, p < .001) and non-planning impulsivity (β = -0.19, p < .01) had a direct relationship with cognitive capacity decrease. Attentional impulsivity was also associated with decreased cognitive capacity with a serial mediation effect via smartphone addiction, academic procrastination, bedtime procrastination, sleep insufficiency and fatigue (estimate = 0.017, p < .01). The indirect link between non-planning impulsivity and cognitive capacity decrease was mediated by academic procrastination, bedtime procrastination, sleep insufficiency and fatigue (estimate = 0.011, p < .01).

CONCLUSIONS

Inability to stay focused and plan tasks effectively (directly and indirectly) predicts poor sleep outcomes. This relationship is mediated by excessive smartphone use, academic procrastination, and bedtime procrastination. Our findings are relevant in light of self-regulatory learning, which is crucial in medical education. This is a recursive cycle of planning, emotion regulation, proper strategy selection and self-monitoring. Future interventions addressing attentional and non-planning impulsivity, problematic smartphone use, academic procrastination, and in turn, bedtime procrastination might make this routine more effective. In the conclusion section, practical implications of the results are discussed.

Relationship between behavioral inhibition/activation system and Internet addiction among Chinese college students: The mediating effects of intolerance of uncertainty and self-control and gender differences

Background

Internet addiction is a global public health issue among college students that is associated with a range of negative outcomes. Especially the COVID-19 pandemic has forced them to shift most of their studies and life activities from offline to online, leading to a growing problem of Internet dependence and even Internet addiction. Although previous studies have indicated that the Behavioral Inhibition/Activation System (BIS/BAS) have important effects on college students' Internet addiction, the mechanisms underlying these associations and gender differences are still unclear.

Aims

The present study investigated the mediating roles of intolerance of uncertainty and self-control in the association between BIS/BAS and Internet addiction following the Interaction of Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution model. Gender differences in such associations between variables were also tested.

Method

A total of 747 Chinese college students were surveyed by using Young's Diagnostic Questionnaire for Internet Addiction, BIS/BAS Scales, the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale and the Brief Self-Control Scale.

Results

The results from the structural equation modeling analysis showed that BIS was positively related to Internet addiction and that BAS had a negative association with Internet addiction. Moreover, intolerance of uncertainty and self-control mediated the relationships between BIS/BAS and Internet addiction. Multi-group analysis further revealed that the associations between BAS and Internet addiction and between intolerance of uncertainty and Internet addiction were stronger among the male students than among female students. The relationship between self-control and Internet addiction was greater in the female sample than in the male sample.

Conclusions

These findings extend our understanding of how BIS/BAS influence Internet addiction among college students and suggest that not only should training approaches based on intolerance of uncertainty and self-control be fully considered, but different intervention programs should be focused on gender sensitivity to maximize the intervention effect.

Association between Chronotype and Sleep Quality among Chinese College Students: The Role of Bedtime Procrastination and Sleep Hygiene Awareness

Chronotype and sleep quality have been shown to play significant roles in influencing people's physical and mental health. The current study focuses on examining the relationship between chronotype and sleep quality among Chinese college students and exploring the mediating role of bedtime procrastination and the moderating role of sleep hygiene awareness. A sample of 2822 college students (female = 71.4%) aged between 17 and 29 years (M = 19.77, SD = 1.41) were included and completed the measures of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ), Bedtime Procrastination Scale (BPS) and Sleep Hygiene Awareness Scale (SHAS). The results showed that evening-type students reported the lowest sleep quality and highest levels of bedtime procrastination. In contrast, the highest sleep quality and lowest levels of bedtime procrastination were shown by morning-type, exhibiting the neither-type students' intermediate chronotype. Bedtime procrastination partially mediated the relationship between chronotype and sleep quality. Furthermore, sleep hygiene awareness moderated the direct effect of chronotype on sleep quality and the effect of chronotype in the path from chronotype to bedtime procrastination. Specifically, higher levels of sleep hygiene awareness could buffer the adverse effect of chronotype on self-reported sleep quality but bolstered the negative effect of chronotype on bedtime procrastination. Our results suggest that individuals with an evening preference are inclined to postpone their bedtime and further experience poorer sleep quality at night. Sleep hygiene awareness may serve as a protective factor for poor nocturnal sleep. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of reducing bedtime procrastination and improving sleep hygiene awareness in the interventions designed to help college students to own a better sleep quality, especially for those with evening chronotypes.