Major Identity and Academic Procrastination among Undergraduates at Private Universities in Shaanxi, China: The Mediating Role of Self-Control

HRMARS - Against the backdrop of the diversification and massification of higher education, learning behavior issues among students in private universities have become increasingly prominent, with academic procrastination emerging as a critical practical problem that adversely affects learning outcomes and professional development. However, existing studies have largely examined major identity, self-control, or academic procrastination from isolated perspectives, and empirical investigations into the integrated mechanisms among these variables—particularly within the population of undergraduates in private universities—remain relatively limited. In response to this gap, this study takes undergraduates from private universities in Shaanxi Province as the research sample, aiming to explore the relationship between major identity and academic procrastination and to examine the mediating role of self-control in this relationship. The study was conducted in five private undergraduate universities in Shaanxi Province, where the total number of design major students across four academic years was 2,084. Grounded in Social Identity Theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1979) and Self-Control Theory (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990), this study adopted a quantitative research approach with a cross-sectional survey design. A total of 232 valid responses were obtained through stratified random sampling. The research instruments included the Major Identity Scale, Academic Procrastination Scale, and Self-Control Scale. Data collection was carried out through standardized procedures of questionnaire distribution and administration. Data analysis primarily employed descriptive statistics, regression analysis, and Bootstrap mediation analysis. The results indicate that private undergraduate students in Shaanxi Province exhibit above-moderate levels of major identity and self-control, while academic procrastination remains at a moderate level. Major identity has a significant negative predictive effect on academic procrastination, suggesting that higher levels of major identity are associated with lower levels of academic procrastination. Furthermore, self-control plays a significant partial mediating role in the relationship between major identity and academic procrastination. Specifically, major identity not only directly influences academic procrastination but also indirectly reduces it by enhancing students’ self-control. By integrating major identity and self-control, this study deepens the understanding of the underlying mechanisms of academic procrastination among private undergraduate students and provides empirical evidence for higher education institutions to intervene by strengthening major identity development and self-control training. Future research may incorporate emotional factors or learning environment variables (e.g., academic stress, peer support) into the model to further examine their moderating or mediating roles in the relationships among major identity, self-control, and academic procrastination.