Research on the influence of physical activity on procrastination behavior of medical postgraduates

Objective: To explore the influence of physical activity on the procrastination behavior of medical postgraduates, and the chain mediating effect of positive psychological capital and self-control, and to verify the effectiveness of physical activity in improving procrastination behavior. Methods: Taking 673 medical postgraduates as the research object, the "Physical Activity Scale", "Procrastination Behavior Scale", "Positive Psychological Capital Scale", and "Self-Control Scale" were used for psychological measurement. SPSS 27.0 software was used for correlation analysis, and PROCESS 4.2 plug-in was used to test the chain mediating effect. Results: (1) Physical activity can significantly negatively predict procrastination behavior, and the direct predictive effect of physical activity on procrastination behavior of medical postgraduates is significant. (2) Physical activity can significantly positively predict positive psychological capital and self-control; positive psychological capital significantly positively predicts self-control, and significantly negatively predicts procrastination behavior; self-control can significantly negatively predict procrastination behavior; (3) Positive psychological capital and self-control have a significant mediating effect between physical activity and procrastination behavior of medical postgraduates. Among the three mediating paths, physical activity → positive psychological capital → procrastination behavior (Ind1), physical activity → self-control → procrastination behavior (Ind2) and physical activity → positive psychological capital → self-control → procrastination behavior (Ind3) accounted for 23.23%, 14.65%, and 9.09% of the total effect, respectively. Conclusion: There is a significant negative correlation between physical activity and procrastination behavior of medical postgraduates. Physical activity can not only have a simple mediating effect on procrastination behavior through positive psychological capital and self-control, but also affect the procrastination behavior of medical postgraduates through the chain mediating effect of positive psychological capital and self-control.