Internet addiction and procrastination among Chinese young adults: A moderated mediation model

The Internet is an indispensable everyday tool for many students, but it also poses a certain problem to academic careers and may negatively affect students’ mental health, resulting in academic failure. Procrastination is also a common issue amongst college students. This study made use of extended research to explore the correlation between Internet addiction and procrastination and the underlying mechanisms thereof. A cross-sectional design and a questionnaire survey were utilized. Correlation analysis revealed that Internet addiction was positively correlated with procrastination, and core self-evaluations were positively associated with self-control. Both Internet addiction and procrastination were significantly and negatively correlated with core self-evaluations and self-control, respectively. In addition, social adjustment was positively correlated with core self-evaluations, but not significantly correlated with the other variables. In addition, the results supported the moderated mediation model, specifically that a high level of social adjustment could block the direct effect of Internet addiction on procrastination and weaken the indirect effects of Internet addiction on procrastination via core self-evaluations. The results of this study suggest that procrastination among Internet-addicted college students can be reduced by enhancing core self-evaluations, self-control, and social adjustment.