The Effects of Maternal Parenting Styles Experienced During Childhood on Undergraduate Students’ Procrastination: The Mediating Role of Socially Prescribed Perfectionism and Depression

This study aims to examine the effects of maternal parenting styles experienced during childhood on undergraduate students’ general procrastination, with socially prescribed perfectionism and depression as mediators. A survey was conducted with 263 undergraduate students in South Korea (131 males, 132 females), aged 18–25. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the pathways from maternal care and overprotection to procrastination through socially prescribed perfectionism and depression. The main findings are as follows. First, maternal care and overprotection did not significantly influence procrastination through socially prescribed perfectionism alone. Second, maternal overprotection had a significant positive indirect effect on procrastination through depression, while the indirect effect of maternal care through depression was not significant. Third, both maternal care and overprotection had significant indirect effects on procrastination through the sequential mediation of socially prescribed perfectionism and depression. This study provides insights into general procrastination in undergraduate students, a dysfunctional behavior that has received relatively little attention when compared to academic procrastination. These results highlight the developmental role of maternal parenting, particularly low care and high overprotection, in shaping perfectionism and depression, which may contribute to procrastination. The findings may offer practical implications for professionals and support groups seeking to understand and intervene in students’ procrastination.