The impact of basic psychological needs on academic procrastination: the sequential mediating role of anxiety and self-control

This cross-sectional study investigates the relationship between basic psychological needs, state anxiety, self-control, and psychological resilience in predicting academic procrastination among college students. Drawing from Self-Determination Theory, the study explores how unmet psychological need...

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Main Authors: Zhaixiang Ye, Shengjie Chi, Xiaoyun Ma, Linling Pan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-05-01
Series:Frontiers in Psychology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1576619/full
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author Zhaixiang Ye
Shengjie Chi
Xiaoyun Ma
Linling Pan
author_facet Zhaixiang Ye
Shengjie Chi
Xiaoyun Ma
Linling Pan
author_sort Zhaixiang Ye
collection DOAJ
description This cross-sectional study investigates the relationship between basic psychological needs, state anxiety, self-control, and psychological resilience in predicting academic procrastination among college students. Drawing from Self-Determination Theory, the study explores how unmet psychological needs contribute to academic procrastination through the sequential mediation of anxiety and self-control, while also examining the moderating role of psychological resilience. A sample of 612 college students participated in the study. The results reveal that basic psychological needs negatively predict academic procrastination (β = −0.14, p < 0.01) both directly and indirectly. Specifically, self-control mediates the relationship between basic psychological needs and procrastination, while anxiety and self-control serve as sequential mediators (95% CI: [−0.12, −0.06]). Furthermore, psychological resilience significantly moderates the relationship between self-control and academic procrastination (β = 0.08, p < 0.01), as well as the sequential mediation pathway. These findings underscore the critical role of psychological resilience and self-regulation in mitigating procrastination behaviors among college students, offering practical implications for educational institutions.
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spelling doaj-art-09bcd4f0c82f44b39b1b70a3eb568e362025-08-20T01:52:18ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782025-05-011610.3389/fpsyg.2025.15766191576619The impact of basic psychological needs on academic procrastination: the sequential mediating role of anxiety and self-controlZhaixiang Ye0Shengjie Chi1Xiaoyun Ma2Linling Pan3Department of Psychotherapy, Wenzhou Seventh People’s Hospital, Wenzhou, ChinaDepartment of Counseling, Cangnan Third Vocational School, Zhejiang, ChinaDepartment of Psychotherapy, Wenzhou Seventh People’s Hospital, Wenzhou, ChinaDepartment of Psychotherapy, Wenzhou Seventh People’s Hospital, Wenzhou, ChinaThis cross-sectional study investigates the relationship between basic psychological needs, state anxiety, self-control, and psychological resilience in predicting academic procrastination among college students. Drawing from Self-Determination Theory, the study explores how unmet psychological needs contribute to academic procrastination through the sequential mediation of anxiety and self-control, while also examining the moderating role of psychological resilience. A sample of 612 college students participated in the study. The results reveal that basic psychological needs negatively predict academic procrastination (β = −0.14, p < 0.01) both directly and indirectly. Specifically, self-control mediates the relationship between basic psychological needs and procrastination, while anxiety and self-control serve as sequential mediators (95% CI: [−0.12, −0.06]). Furthermore, psychological resilience significantly moderates the relationship between self-control and academic procrastination (β = 0.08, p < 0.01), as well as the sequential mediation pathway. These findings underscore the critical role of psychological resilience and self-regulation in mitigating procrastination behaviors among college students, offering practical implications for educational institutions.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1576619/fullbasic psychological needsacademic procrastinationstate anxietyself-controlpsychological resilienceself-determination theory
spellingShingle Zhaixiang Ye
Shengjie Chi
Xiaoyun Ma
Linling Pan
The impact of basic psychological needs on academic procrastination: the sequential mediating role of anxiety and self-control
Frontiers in Psychology
basic psychological needs
academic procrastination
state anxiety
self-control
psychological resilience
self-determination theory
title The impact of basic psychological needs on academic procrastination: the sequential mediating role of anxiety and self-control
title_full The impact of basic psychological needs on academic procrastination: the sequential mediating role of anxiety and self-control
title_fullStr The impact of basic psychological needs on academic procrastination: the sequential mediating role of anxiety and self-control
title_full_unstemmed The impact of basic psychological needs on academic procrastination: the sequential mediating role of anxiety and self-control
title_short The impact of basic psychological needs on academic procrastination: the sequential mediating role of anxiety and self-control
title_sort impact of basic psychological needs on academic procrastination the sequential mediating role of anxiety and self control
topic basic psychological needs
academic procrastination
state anxiety
self-control
psychological resilience
self-determination theory
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1576619/full
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