The mediating role of self-control between stress and procrastination among adolescents: Examining the ego depletion theory

Stress is an omnipresent psychological force impacting many aspects of life. Although a moderate amount of stress is attributed to better performance, an excessive amount of stress can inhibit executive functioning abilities. Adolescents encounter numerous stressors that they must overcome. Self-control, according to the ego depletion theory, has limited source and can diminish when individuals are overwhelmed. In this study, we collected data from 616 adolescents to ascertain the impact of stress on self-control and procrastination. Specifically, we aimed to see if increased stress would decrease self-control, which, in turn, would increase procrastination. The mediation analysis supported the above hypothesis, and the model explained 39% of the variance in procrastination scores. 61.30% of this relationship was explained by the indirect effect (i.e., stress increases procrastination through reduced self-control). Our results support the existence of the debated ego-depletion theory in the context of procrastination and self-control.