“Why don't you go to bed on time”? parental psychological control and bedtime procrastination among Chinese adolescents

Objective Although bedtime procrastination has become a prevalent social problem among adolescents, little study has investigated the impact of parental psychological control on bedtime procrastination and the possible mechanisms underlying this relationship. To fill the gaps, this study constructed a moderated serial mediation model to test the mediating effects of negative affect and self-control, as well as the moderating effect of sensory processing sensitivity in the relation of parental psychological control to bedtime procrastination. Methods To evaluate our hypotheses, 2167 adolescents (M age = 12.99, SD = 1.27) were recruited in the current cross-sectional study using multiple questionnaires. The data were analyzed using correlation analysis. Furthermore, structural equation modeling was used to examine the mediating effects of negative affect and self-control, as well as the moderating effect of sensory processing sensitivity. Results Correlational analysis indicated a positive relation between parental psychological control and bedtime procrastination. The result of the structural equation modeling showed that negative affect and self-control act as mediators in the relation of parental psychological control to bedtime procrastination. Furthermore, the model indicated the moderating effect of sensory processing sensitivity. Specifically, adolescents who were more sensitive to sensory processing were also more likely to have more negative affect when faced with parental psychological control. Conclusion These results may offer some direction for the intervention to lessen bedtime procrastination among adolescents.