A randomized controlled trial of school-based exercise on procrastination in high school students: The mediating role...

This study explored the effects of different physical training programs on the procrastination behavior and time management ability in male high school students, while investigating the mediating role of time management disposition, to establish school-based exercise interventions for improving adolescent procrastination behavior and time management ability.

Seventy-seven 11th-grade male students were randomly assigned to four groups: traditional training (Group I), strength training (Group II), HIIT training (Group III), and strength + HIIT training (Group IV). At the points before and after the intervention, the General Procrastination Scale (GPS) and Adolescence Time Management Disposition Scale (ATMD) were measured as indicators of the procrastination behavior and time management ability of students in senior high school, and the intervention effects of 12-week different schemes were compared.

After the intervention, Groups II, III, and IV showed significant reductions in GPS scores, while Group I (traditional training) showed an increase. ATMD scores improved significantly in Groups II, III, and IV, with Group IV demonstrating the largest gains. Similar patterns were observed across ATMD subscales, particularly for sense of time value. Mediation analysis indicated that ATMD partially mediated the effect of physical training on procrastination (ab = 0.547, 95 % CI [0.11, 1.16]), accounting for 25 % of the total effect.

Structured physical training-particularly combined strength + HIIT-effectively reduced procrastination and enhanced time management in adolescents, with time management disposition serving as a partial mediator. These findings highlight the potential of targeted exercise programs to improve procrastination and time management in educational settings.