The Influence of Parenting Styles on Academic Procrastination: The Mediating Role of Social Media Use

Academic procrastination is a prevalent issue among college students, influenced by multiple psychological and environmental factors. The present study investigates the relationship between parenting styles and academic procrastination, with social media use (problematic social media use) considered as a potential mediating factor. Data were collected from a sample of 200 college students aged 18–22 years. Self-report measures, including the Academic Procrastination Scale, Parental Authority Questionnaire, and Social Media Addiction Scale (used to assess the intensity of social media use), were administered. Correlation analyses revealed significant associations among parenting styles, social media use, and academic procrastination. Mediation analysis was conducted using Hayes’ PROCESS macro (Model 4) with bootstrapped confidence intervals (5,000 resamples). Mediation analysis indicated that social media use partially mediated the relationship between authoritarian parenting (indirect effect B = .2755, Bootstrap 95% CI: .043; .498) and authoritative parenting (indirect effect B = −.589, Bootstrap 95% CI: −.836; −.372) with academic procrastination. The models explained 48.75% and 43.36% of the variance in academic procrastination, respectively. Authoritarian parenting was associated with higher levels of social media use and academic procrastination, whereas authoritative parenting was associated with lower levels of both. These findings highlight the complex interplay between parenting styles, social media use, and academic behaviors, suggesting potential targets for intervention. In sum, social media use appears to be an important pathway linking parenting styles with academic procrastination among college students.