Time Flies, but You’re in Control: the Mediating Effect of Self-control between Time Attitude and Academic Procrastination

Abstract

Abstract A holiday is a time of rest. However, the abrupt lifting of lockdowns in China made middle schools postpone their final exams to the end of the winter holiday. Chinese middle school students experienced an unprecedented holiday, in which they struggled between procrastinating and sticking to the review plan. This study thus investigated their academic procrastination within this extraordinary context. Prior studies also suggested the correlation among academic procrastination, time attitude and self-control. Therefore, we expected a mediating effect of self-control on the relationship between procrastination and time attitude. Initially, we used a questionnaire survey to obtain students’ self-reported data on procrastination, time attitude and self-control. Then, we implemented a case study to check students’ completion of the review plan in real settings. The results of both the survey and the case study indicated that Chinese middle school students demonstrated a greater tendency for academic procrastination. Additionally, self-control negatively correlated with academic procrastination, and self-control significantly mediated the relationship between academic procrastination and positive time attitudes. This study enriches the existing research with data from a novel situation, and supplies empirical evidence for teaching regulation and intervention.