Future orientation as a mediator between perceived environmental cues in likelihood of future success and procrastination

Childhood environmental risk and youth bedtime procrastination: A path model with life history strategy and sense of control as mediators

BACKGROUND

Bedtime procrastination is a serious threat to youths' sleep quality and physical and mental health. It is affected by various psychological and physiological factors, but few studies focused on the impact and internal mechanism of childhood experience on bedtime procrastination in adulthood from the evolutionary and developmental perspective.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to explore the distal factors of bedtime procrastination among young people, that is, the association between childhood environmental risk (harshness and unpredictability) and bedtime procrastination, as well as the mediating roles of life history (LH) strategy and sense of control.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

By convenience sampling, 453 Chinese college students aged 16 to 24 (55.2 % males, Mage = 21.21 years) completed questionnaires regarding demographics, childhood environmental harshness (from neighborhood, school, and family), and unpredictability (parental divorce, household moves, and parental employment changes), LH strategy, sense of control, and bedtime procrastination.

METHODS

Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesis model.

RESULTS

The results showed that childhood environmental harshness and unpredictability were both positively associated with bedtime procrastination. Sense of control had a partial mediating role between harshness and bedtime procrastination (B = 0.02, 95%CI = [0.004, 0.042]), and between unpredictability and bedtime procrastination (B = 0.01, 95%CI = [0.002, 0.031]), respectively. LH strategy and sense of control had a serial mediating role between harshness and bedtime procrastination (B = 0.04, 95%CI = [0.010, 0.074]), and between unpredictability and bedtime procrastination (B = 0.01, 95%CI = [0.003, 0.029]), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings suggest that childhood environmental harshness and unpredictability are potential predictors of youths' bedtime procrastination. Young people can reduce bedtime procrastination problems by slowing LH strategies and improving their sense of control.

Time perspectives and procrastination in university students: exploring the moderating role of basic psychological need satisfaction

BACKGROUND

Research on procrastination, regarding time perspective factors and basic psychological need satisfaction (BPNS) has placed this problem at the meeting point of individual and contextual variables. The present study focused both on the individual, given that time perspectives can be defined as a person's attitude to an object (time) at three moments (present, past, future); and on contextual aspects, because the satisfaction of basic psychological needs (competence, autonomy, relatedness) is facilitated or made difficult by social contexts. Based on this, the aim of this study was to analyse the relationships between time perspectives and inter-subject procrastination variations, testing the moderating role of BPNS in this relationship.

METHOD

A total of 1,188 undergraduate students, aged 17-50 years (M = 20.02, SD = 2.63), completed three questionnaires containing the variables of interest.

RESULTS

Regression analyses showed significant negative (thus, potentially protective) association of future time perspective with all three procrastination dimensions (decisional procrastination, implemental delay, and lateness). Conversely, past-negative time perspective showed a positive (thus, potentially adverse) association with procrastination. Satisfaction of the need for competence also showed a negative (thus, potentially protective) association with all procrastination dimensions. On eight occasions, the relationships between time perspectives and procrastination dimensions were moderated by psychological need satisfaction.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings show that BPNS may play relevant roles in the negative (favourable) relationships between procrastination dimensions and positive time perspectives, as well as in the positive (adverse) associations between negative time perspectives and procrastination dimensions. Contextual interventions fostering enhanced levels of perceived autonomy, competence, and relatedness, as well as future time perspective, are thus strong candidates to consider for use and evaluation by policy makers, pedagogues, teachers, coaches and other professionals interested in counteracting procrastination tendencies.

Development and Validation of the Multidimensional Procrastination Scale in Chinese

Abstract. Procrastination is a complicated phenomenon with many thoughts, behaviors, and feelings that may characterize different subgroups of procrastinators. Such phenomenon has not been well studied in an integrated theoretical framework. This study aims to establish a theory about the behavioral, cognitive, and affective aspects of procrastination and to develop and validate an operational instrument. In Study 1, we conducted qualitative research based on grounded theories and generated seven initial categories with 22 themes associated with the components in procrastination. In Study 2, we developed an instrument, the Multidimensional Procrastination Scale (MPS), and established a five-dimension structure for the MPS using explanatory factor analysis (EFA; N = 435) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA; N = 387). In Study 3, we established construct validity and predictive validity for the MPS by building a nomological framework and predicting behavioral procrastination, respectively. The theoretical framework of procrastination included maladaptive (i.e., impulsive and unorganized, hesitation, lack of incentives, avoidance) and adaptive (i.e., arousal and rationalization) components. The MPS demonstrated acceptable reliability, factorial validity, construct validity, and predictive validity. The findings of this study have implications for further studies on the typology of procrastination and the development of tailored interventions to alleviate maladaptive aspects of procrastination.

Into the Unknown: Uncertainty and Procrastination in Students From a Life History Perspective

While existing findings have established an increase in procrastination among students in higher education during COVID-19, they do not elucidate how COVID-19 has effected an increase in procrastination. Drawing upon previous findings and employing a life history framework, this paper proposed that the increase in procrastination may be attributed to the heightened levels of uncertainty in the pandemic. Additionally, this paper examined life history strategy as the psychological mechanism underlying the relation between uncertainty and procrastination. By collecting data across two school semesters in a university (N = 253), we found that uncertainty and procrastination did not differ between the semester where changes were abruptly imposed to stem the spread of COVID-19 and the following semester. Our findings also revealed that uncertainty predicted procrastination, and that life history strategy mediated the relation between uncertainty and procrastination. Specifically, uncertainty was associated with a faster life history strategy, which was positively associated with procrastination. By shedding light on the psychology behind the effect of uncertainty on procrastination, the findings of this paper hold important implications for the design of procrastination interventions for the uncertain climate during the pandemic and “the new normal” post COVID-19.

Need-Supportive and Need-Thwarting Teacher Behavior: Their Importance to Boys' and Girls' Academic Engagement and Procrastination Behavior

Motivation plays an important role in students’ school behavior, and research has established that students’ learning environment experiences such as teachers’ behavior toward them contribute to their motivation and behavior at school. Self-determination theory (SDT) offers an interesting frame of reference in the study of the relationship between students’ learning experiences at school and their school behavior. Considering three basic psychological needs (the need for autonomy, competence, and relatedness), the SDT points to the importance of nutriments and support in the social environment in order to allow growth in motivation, engagement, and (psychological) well-functioning. In addition, thwarting these needs is supposed to contribute to maladaptive functioning. Teachers can play an important role in the fulfillment of students’ basic psychological needs by delivering support (autonomy support, structure, and involvement); however, controlling instructional behavior, chaos in the classroom, and teacher rejection and neglect are supposed to be a treat to the fulfillment of students’ basic psychological needs. In the current innovative longitudinal study, teachers’ need-supportive behavior as well as teachers’ thwarting of these needs are considered and their relationship with students’ academic engagement (adaptive functioning) and procrastination behavior (maladaptive functioning) is studied. In addition, attention is paid to differential effects of teachers’ behavior with regard to boys and girls. Participants were 566 students belonging to 20 mathematics/English grade 1 secondary education classes in the Netherlands. Multilevel analyses revealed evidence for the importance of both teachers’ need-supportive and need-thwarting behaviors in relation to students’ academic engagement and procrastination behavior. In addition, the findings revealed that teachers’ need-supportive behavior is more important for students’ academic engagement (adaptive functioning), while teachers’ need-thwarting behavior has larger effects on students’ procrastination behavior (maladaptive functioning). Furthermore, evidence was found that boys often seemed to be more sensitive to their teachers’ behavior than girls. The findings highlight the importance of both teachers’ need-supportive and need-thwarting behaviors in daily classrooms and contribute to deepen our insight into and understanding of factors leading to adaptive and maladaptive functioning of boys and girls in relation to learning tasks at school.

Leaders' Future Orientation and Public Health Investment Intention: A Moderated Mediation Model of Self-Efficacy and Perceived Social Support

Prior studies have investigated the issue of public health and health policy from economic, environmental, and healthcare perspectives. Research on public health from leaders' perspective may also help to advance our knowledge about leaders' perceptions, attitudes, and behavioral intentions toward public health management. Therefore, this study is based on social ideal theory, social cognitive theory, and social trust theory to investigate the influence of leaders' future orientation on public health investment intention with the mediating role of leaders' self-efficacy and the moderating role of perceived social support. Using a structural equation modeling with a sample data of 381 leaders of government agencies in Vietnam, empirical results indicate that leaders' future orientation has a positive influence on public health investment intention. Furthermore, self-efficacy is found to have a positive mediating effect in the relationship between leaders' future orientation and public health investment intention. In addition, perceived social support positively moderates the link between leaders' future orientation and self-efficacy. Perceived social support also moderates the indirect effect of leaders' future orientation on public health investment intention through self-efficacy. On one hand, this study contributes to theoretical research by clarifying the effects of leaders' perceptions, and cognitive and behavioral intentions toward public health investment. Findings of this study may have implications for researchers who may have interest in studying the issue of public health management from leaders' viewpoints. On the other hand, this study contributes to practitioners since understanding how leaders' characteristics affect public health investment will enhance the quality of policy makers' decision-making in improving public health for citizens and society.

Environmental unpredictability, economic inequality, and dynamic nature of life history before, during, and after the Industrial Revolution

It is emphasized that environmental predictability is another important condition that plays roles in slow strategies that are related to innovation; that economic inequality, except as measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, influences innovation; and that switching global life history from a slow to a fast strategy is a response adopted in response to new challenges during the post-Industrial Revolution period.

The Associations Between Social Rank Uncertainty, Machiavellianism, and Dominance: From a Life History Perspective

This study used the life history (LH) theory to investigate how environmental cues are associated with Machiavellianism. A total of 252 undergraduate students completed self-report measures of social rank uncertainty, Machiavellianism, fast LH strategy, and dominance. The results indicated that Machiavellianism was related to a fast LH strategy. Furthermore, a fast LH strategy mediated an association between social rank uncertainty and Machiavellianism. Finally, Machiavellianism was positively associated with dominance. These findings may enhance our understanding of the evolutionary origin of Machiavellianism.

Ecological Assets and Academic Procrastination among Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Commitment to Learning

Academic procrastination is defined as a purposive delay of academic tasks that must be completed. Within the framework of the ecological model of resiliency, this study examined how ecological assets were related to academic procrastination among adolescents. Participants in the study were 577 adolescents (53.5% boys) from Shanghai, China. They completed measures of ecological assets, commitment to learning, and academic procrastination. Structural equation modeling revealed that, as predicted, ecological assets were negatively associated with academic procrastination. In addition, commitment to learning fully mediated the association between ecological assets and academic procrastination. Implications of the present findings are discussed.