Boredom Proneness on Chinese College Students' Phubbing during the COVID-19 Outbreak: The Mediating Effects of Self-Control and Bedtime Procrastination

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the relationship between boredom proneness and phubbing among Chinese college students and examine how self-control and bedtime procrastination mediate this relationship during the COVID-19 outbreak. METHODS: A total of 707 Chinese college students were voluntarily surveyed. They completed the Generic Scale of Phubbing (GSP), Short Boredom Proneness Scale (SBPS), Bedtime Procrastination Scale (BPS), and Self-Control Scale (SCS). RESULTS: (1) The results revealed that men scored higher on boredom than women. (2) The analysis revealed significant associations between each of the variables. Boredom proneness was positively correlated with bedtime procrastination (r = 0.318; P < 0.001) and phubbing (r = 0.418; P < 0.001) and negatively correlated with self-control (r = −0.518; P < 0.001). (3) Mediation analysis suggested that self-control and bedtime procrastination mediate the relationship between boredom proneness and phubbing (effect of self-control = 0.094, P < 0.001, 95% CI [0.062∼0.128]; effect of bedtime procrastination = 0.025, P < 0.001, 95% CI [0.011∼0.042]; and effect of self-control and bedtime procrastination = 0.032, P < 0.001, 95% CI [0.020∼0.046]). CONCLUSION: Self-control and bedtime procrastination mediate the association between boredom proneness and phubbing among Chinese college students during the COVID-19 pandemic.