COVID-19 Related Emotional Stress and Bedtime Procrastination Among College Students in China: A Moderated Mediation Model

Yuhong Deng,1 Baojuan Ye,1 Qiang Yang2 1Center of Mental Health Education and Research, School of Psychology, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, People’s Republic of China; 2School of Education, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Baojuan Ye, Email yebaojuan0806@163.comPurpose: Although bedtime procrastination is prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic, little is known about the relationship between COVID-19 related emotional stress and bedtime procrastination. Therefore, we investigated the correlation between COVID-19 related emotional stress and bedtime procrastination and examined the mediating role of negative affect and the moderating role of rumination among Chinese college students.Methods: A multicenter, cross-sectional, and quantitative research was conducted in China from August 11, 2021, to August 27, 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The sampling method used in the study is the convenience sampling method. A total of 913 college students (aged 18– 24 years) participated and completed online self-reported questionnaires. Their levels of COVID-19 related emotional stress, negative affect, rumination, and bedtime procrastination were measured by the Coronavirus Stress Measure, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale, the Ruminative Responses Scale, and the Bedtime Procrastination Scale, respectively. The data were analyzed using Pearson correlations and moderated mediation analysis.Results: COVID-19 related emotional stress was positively associated with bedtime procrastination. Meanwhile, the association could be mediated by negative affect (Effect = 0.33, Boot 95% CI = [0.26, 0.39]) and moderated by rumination (Effect = 0.05, Boot 95% CI = [0.03, 0.07]) through its moderation in the link between COVID-19 related emotional stress and negative affect. This indicated that the mediation effect of negative affect was stronger in college students with high levels of rumination than in those with low levels of rumination.Conclusion: The findings of this study shed light on a correlation between COVID-19 related emotional stress and bedtime procrastination. Moreover, this study suggests that interventions could be targeted at alleviating negative affect and rumination to reduce the bedtime procrastination of college students with high levels of COVID-19 related emotional stress.Keywords: COVID-19, emotional stress, bedtime procrastination, negative affect, rumination