A one-year longitudinal study on the mediating role of problematic TikTok use and gender differences in the association between academic stress and academic procrastination

The study investigates whether academic stress predicts subsequent academic procrastination among university students, and examines the mechanisms and boundary conditions underlying this relationship. Grounded in evidence that academic procrastination impairs engagement, achievement, and well-being while being associated with anxiety and depression, the authors posit that academic stress is a key antecedent of procrastination. They hypothesize that problematic TikTok use, a prevalent short-form video behavior among youth, mediates the stress–procrastination link over time. Additionally, they explore whether gender moderates the direct and indirect effects, given prior evidence of gender differences in problematic internet behaviors and procrastination. A longitudinal three-wave design over one year is used to establish temporal ordering and reduce concerns about reverse causality.

Prior research consistently links higher perceived stress to greater academic procrastination, largely from cross-sectional studies. Problematic internet and smartphone use have been tied to procrastination, with increased severity correlating with more procrastination. TikTok and short-form video platforms are widely used by Chinese youth and may foster problematic use characterized by lack of control, withdrawal, escapism, and inefficiency. Stress is a known risk factor for problematic technology use, potentially via self-control depletion (strength model of self-control). Gender differences are documented: males often show higher problematic internet use and gaming, females higher problematic social media use; males also tend to use the internet more for recreation and exhibit greater academic procrastination. Evidence is mixed on whether stress more strongly predicts technology dependence in males or females. These findings motivate testing problematic TikTok use as a mediator and gender as a moderator in the stress–procrastination pathway.

Design: One-year longitudinal study with three waves spaced 6 months apart: T1 (baseline), T2 (+6 months), T3 (+12 months). Participants: 636 students at T1 from two universities in South China (328 males, 308 females); retention: T2 n=618 (97.2%), T3 n=590 (92.8%) included in analyses (303 males, 287 females). Mean age 19.83 (SD=1.24). Inclusion criterion: active users of short-form video platforms (non-users excluded). Procedure: Paper-and-pencil surveys administered in classrooms; informed consent obtained (guardian consent for <18). Measures: - Academic stress (T1): 4-item scale (1–5 Likert; sample items: too much homework; fear of bad grades); α=0.89. - Problematic TikTok use (T2): 7 items (1–5 Likert) adapted from Mobile Phone Addiction Type Scale; sample item: spending hours watching short-form videos on TikTok; α=0.86. - Academic procrastination (T1 and T3): PASS (Solomon & Rothblum, 1984), using 12 items from section 1 (frequency and problem for six tasks; 1–5 Likert); α=0.96 (T1), 0.95 (T3). Covariates: age, urban-rural background, family income (SES), TikTok use time, and baseline T1 academic procrastination. Analytic strategy: Independent-samples t-tests for gender and urban–rural differences; Pearson correlations; mediation (PROCESS) testing indirect effect of T2 problematic TikTok use between T1 academic stress and T3 academic procrastination; moderated mediation (PROCESS) testing gender moderation on paths; 5000 bootstrap samples; regression coefficients reported controlling covariates.

- Group differences (t-tests): Males reported lower T1 academic stress (t=-3.76, p<0.001) and higher T1 academic procrastination (t=2.63, p<0.01), T2 problematic TikTok use (t=5.18, p<0.001), and T3 academic procrastination (t=3.12, p<0.01) than females. No urban–rural differences. - Correlations: In both genders, T1 academic stress positively associated with T1 and T3 academic procrastination and T2 problematic TikTok use. - Mediation (controlling covariates): Without mediator, T1 academic stress predicted T3 academic procrastination (β=0.21, p<0.001). T1 academic stress predicted T2 problematic TikTok use (β=0.28, p<0.001). With mediator included, T2 problematic TikTok use predicted T3 academic procrastination (β=0.21, p<0.001) and T1 academic stress remained significant (β=0.16, p<0.001). - Indirect effect: Total effect β=0.21 (SE=0.04, 95% CI [0.13, 0.30]); direct effect β=0.15 (SE=0.04, 95% CI [0.08, 0.24]); indirect effect via problematic TikTok use β=0.06 (SE=0.01, 95% CI [0.03, 0.09]), accounting for 27.0% of total effect. - Moderated mediation (gender): Path T1 stress→T2 problematic TikTok use moderated by gender (interaction β=-0.37, p<0.001); effect stronger in males (β=0.48, p<0.001) than females (β=0.12, p<0.01). Path T2 problematic TikTok use→T3 procrastination moderated by gender (interaction β=-0.19, p<0.05); stronger in males (β=0.36, p<0.001) than females (β=0.19, p=0.06). Direct path T1 stress→T3 procrastination not moderated by gender (interaction β=-0.07, p=0.40). Conditional effects: Direct effects significant for males (β=0.19, p<0.01) and females (β=0.12, p<0.05). Indirect effect significant for males (β=0.13, 95% CI [0.07, 0.20]) but not for females (β=0.01, 95% CI [-0.01, 0.03]).

Findings support that academic stress longitudinally increases academic procrastination both directly and indirectly via problematic TikTok use, aligning with the strength model of self-control wherein stress depletes self-control resources, contributing to maladaptive coping and procrastination. The mediation underscores the role of problematic short-form video engagement as a mechanism through which stress escalates procrastination in the mobile internet era. Gender differences reveal that stress more strongly predicts problematic TikTok use among males, and that problematic TikTok use more strongly predicts later procrastination in males; thus, the indirect pathway operates primarily in male students. However, the direct effect of stress on procrastination is robust across genders, indicating that stress management is universally important. These results refine understanding of how specific problematic digital behaviors, beyond general internet use, link stress to academic functioning and highlight gendered pathways relevant for targeted interventions.

This longitudinal three-wave study demonstrates that academic stress predicts subsequent academic procrastination among university students, both directly and indirectly through increased problematic TikTok use. The indirect, mediated pathway is pronounced among males but not females, while the direct pathway is significant for both genders. The study advances literature by identifying problematic TikTok use as a specific, temporally ordered mediator and by clarifying gender-specific dynamics. Practically, interventions to reduce academic procrastination should address stress reduction and monitor/mitigate problematic short-form video use, with particular attention to male students. Future work should test generalizability across cultures and ages and compare mediating roles of different problematic digital behaviors (e.g., gaming, broader social media, smartphone overuse).

- Sample limited to Chinese university students, constraining generalizability; cross-cultural replications are needed. - Focus on university-aged participants; effects in children and adolescents were not examined despite growing concern about problematic TikTok use in these groups. - Only problematic TikTok use was tested as a mediator; other problematic internet/smartphone behaviors (e.g., broader social media use, gaming disorder) were not compared, limiting insight into relative mechanisms.