Potential Correlation Between Self-Compassion and Bedtime Procrastination: The Mediating Role of Emotion Regulation

Shazia Rehman, Erum Rehman, Bangshan Liu

2023

Full text Open access: Gold Metadata (CSL-JSON)
DOI 10.2147/prbm.s431922
Data confidence 70 medium
How this score is calculated

It is built from checkable properties of the record itself: whether the article has a DOI, how many independent sources confirmed its data, whether the required fields are filled in, and how recent the latest confirmation is. Disagreement between sources and a missing identifier lower it. A value of 80 or above means the record was published without further checking; 60 to 79 means it is published at reduced confidence, with a manual check advisable. A record verified by an editor by hand is never pushed below 90 by a recalculation. This scores our data about the article, not the article itself.

Abstract

Purpose: The present research aims to investigate the potential correlations between self-compassion and bedtime procrastination, a significant behavior related to sleep. In this research, we put forward the hypothesis that a reduction in negative affect and the implementation of adaptative emotion regulation strategies can elucidate the established connections between self-compassion and a decreased tendency for bedtime procrastination. Methods: Two cross-sectional online surveys (Survey I: n=241 and Survey II: n=546) were carried out via a convenient sampling method. Prior to their inclusion, all participants underwent a thorough assessment to confirm no evidence of clinical insomnia. The study participants in both survey investigations were asked to complete various psychometric assessments, including self-compassion, positive and negative affect, and bedtime procrastination; however, the study participants in Survey II additionally underwent the administration of a cognitive reappraisal assessment. Results: In Survey I, a multiple mediation analysis was conducted to examine the mediating effects of self-compassion on reducing bedtime procrastination through a reduction in negative affect. The results supported the hypothesized relationships, indicating that self-compassion had the expected mediated effects by mitigating negative affective states. However, contrary to expectations, higher positive affect did not mediate the relationship between self-compassion and reduced bedtime procrastination. The findings of Survey II were confirmed through the utilization of path analysis. Moreover, this analysis provided additional evidence to suggest that the mechanism of cognitive reappraisal could account for the observed decrease in negative affect associated with self-compassion. The present study found a notable and sustained impact of self-compassion on reducing instances of delaying bedtime activities. Conclusion: The present research contributes novel empirical evidence suggesting a negative association between self-compassion and the propensity to engage in bedtime procrastination. This relationship can be attributed partly to the implementation of an adaptative emotion regulation mechanism that effectively alleviates negative affect.