The Influence of Mobile Phone Addiction on Procrastination: A Moderated Mediating Model

Abstract

As technologies advances, mobile phones, especially smartphones become increasingly dispensable for young adults, it is particularly prevalent among universities students. But the tools negatively affect the users' physical and mental health who spend more time on it, such as interpersonal communication problems poor sleep quality, and academic failure. The recent papers pointed out that a prominent association among mobile phone addiction, future time perspective, procrastination each other, but few authors investigated the underlying mechanism of above three variables. The study aimed to estimate the mediating role of future time perspective whether the mediator explored the relation of mobile phone addiction on delaying. At the same time, this paper tried to test the moderate effect of gender according to previous study.600 students from medical college in Weifang located in Shandong Province completed multiple scales, namely Mobile Phone Addiction Tendency Scale (MPATS). Future, Time Perspective Scale (FTPS), Arouse Procrastination Scale and Avoidant Procrastination Scale, respectively. The results follows were: (1) future time perspective partially mediated the relationship between mobile phone addiction and procrastination. The proportions of explanation for indirect effects were 20.32% and 24.70%, respectively. (2) Gender played a moderated role in the influence of independent variable on dependent variables. The regulated mediator model was fit and receivable, the mediated model is more suited to male, the addictive behavior profoundly related with procrastination in male groups than that of in female groups. Future directions for the investigation of the moderated mediation model in medical college students in Weifang and the limitations of the present study were discussed.

Procrastination and problematic new media use: the mediating role of future anxiety

“…Similarly, the mediating role of past negative and present fatalistic TP orientations was found in the relationship between ADHD symptoms and addictive Facebook use (Settanni et al, 2018). The present study significantly broadens the findings of earlier research (Liu et al, 2018) by considering future anxiety, one of the aspects of future time perspective, in explaining online addiction.…”

“…Future time perspective acts as a buffer against two types of addiction: Facebook and Internet addictions (Przepiorka & Blachnio, 2016). A recent study (Liu et al, 2018) showed that future time perspective partially mediated the relationship between mobile phone addiction and arousal and avoidant procrastination. The study investigated the positive dimension of future time perspective, comprising domains such as behavioral commitment, future efficacy, far goal orientation, future intention, and consciousness of purpose.…”

“…However, the reverse direction of effects, with new media use increasing the risk of procrastination, would also be plausible. Prior procrastination research has discussed this direction of relationship (Liu et al, 2018). Future research should also explore the reciprocal effects between procrastination and new media use on the basis of longitudinal data.…”

Academic procrastination precedes problematic mobile phone use in Chinese adolescents: A longitudinal mediation model of distraction cognitions

“…From another perspective, PMPU can be considered an antecedent for procrastination (Liu, Gao, Shu, & Cheng, 2018;Wang et al, 2019;Zhen et al, 2020). In particular, PMPU resembles mobile phone addiction or Internet addiction, which has been found to induce changes in the brain system and disrupt the functions of the prefrontal cortex that are responsible for self-control capacity (He, Hong, Bao, & Lei, 2012;Lewis, 2017).…”