Unravelling predictors of academic achievement and life satisfaction in university students: the impact of procrastination, loneliness, and task value beliefs

The impact of mental health and well-being on students’ learning has long been a concern and became especially relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study investigates how feelings of loneliness, procrastination, and task value beliefs predict academic achievement and life satisfaction among 3,700 university students. Self-reported academic progress and disruptions from digital distractors were included as mediators in a structural equation model (SEM). Most predictors moderately predicted academic achievement. However, loneliness showed no significant effect, while digital distractors revealed a weak positive association, indicating a suppressor effect. Loneliness strongly predicted lower life satisfaction, whereas other variables, excluding an insignificant relationship with digital distractors, showed moderate effects. Self-reported academic progress and digital distractors partially mediated the relationships between predictor and outcome variables. The correlation between academic achievement and life satisfaction was not significant. Thus, although most predictors affected both outcomes, the interdependence between academic achievement and life satisfaction seems rather low.