Problematic smartphone use is more strongly associated with academic procrastination than self-reported daily use duration

Introduction Problematic smartphone use has been associated with academic procrastination, but it remains unclear whether this association reflects the amount of time spent using a smartphone or difficulty regulating its use. This cross-sectional study compared problematic smartphone use with self-reported daily use duration as predictors of academic procrastination. It also, examined general self-efficacy as a candidate intervening variable and educational stage as an exploratory moderator, and provided a preliminary psychometric evaluation of a new 27-item measure of problematic smartphone use. Methods A convenience sample of 973 Romanian adults enrolled in secondary or higher education completed measures of problematic smartphone use, self-reported daily use duration, general self-efficacy, and academic procrastination. All participants were at least 18 years old, so the secondary-education subgroup comprised adult students in their final high-school years. Analyses included competing confirmatory factor models, hierarchical regression, comparison of dependent correlations, a bootstrap indirect-effect model, and exploratory moderation. Results Problematic smartphone use was positively associated with academic procrastination ( r = 0.21, 95% CI [0.15, 0.27], p < 0.001), whereas self-reported daily use duration was not ( r = 0.04, p = 0.192). The two dependent correlations differed significantly (Williams test, p < 0.001), and problematic smartphone use explained additional variance beyond self-reported use duration (Δ R 2 = 0.042). The association remained similar after removing items conceptually adjacent to procrastination, although conceptual overlap cannot be excluded. General self-efficacy did not account for the association in the hypothesized direction. In exploratory analyses, the association was stronger in the secondary-education subgroup ( r = 0.31) than among university students ( r = 0.15; interaction p = 0.016, Δ R 2 = 0.007). Discussion Academic procrastination was more consistently associated with problematic smartphone use than with self-reported daily use duration, although the explained variance was small ( R 2 = 0.04). Duration was self-reported with a single item, so the comparison does not extend to objectively recorded screen time. The findings are consistent with a self-regulation account; however, the cross-sectional design precludes causal or temporal inferences. Both measures require independent validation, and the findings should be replicated with independently validated instruments.