The Impact of Executive Dysfunction on Anxiety in Hearing-Impaired College Students: Smartphone Addiction as a Mediator and Academic Procrastination as a Moderator

Zhiheng Xiong; Guomin Li; Jiejia Chen; Li Peng

doi:10.2147/PRBM.S470293

The Impact of Executive Dysfunction on Anxiety in Hearing-Impaired College Students: Smartphone Addiction as a Mediator and Academic Procrastination as a Moderator

Psychol Res Behav Manag. 2024 Jul 30:17:2853-2863. doi: 10.2147/PRBM.S470293. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Zhiheng Xiong^#¹, Guomin Li^#², Jiejia Chen³, Li Peng¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Humanities, Southeast University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.
² School of Education Science, Nanjing Normal University of Special Education, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.
³ School of Electronic and Information Engineering, Southwest University, Chongqing, People's Republic of China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Purpose: Hearing-impaired college students often rely on smartphones for information exchange and social interaction due to their hearing limitations, which may increase their risk of smartphone addiction. This study aims to explore the impact of executive dysfunction on anxiety levels in hearing-impaired college students, investigating smartphone addiction as a mediator and academic procrastination as a moderator.

Methods: We conducted a questionnaire survey using the Executive Function Scale, the Anxiety Scale, the Smartphone Addiction Scale, and the Academic Procrastination Scale. The survey included 609 hearing-impaired college students from three universities in Jiangsu, Hunan, and Heilongjiang Provinces, China.

Results: After controlling for age, executive dysfunction was found to significantly predict higher anxiety levels in hearing-impaired college students. Additionally, smartphone addiction partially mediated the relationship between executive dysfunction and anxiety. Academic procrastination further moderated the relationship between smartphone addiction and anxiety.

Conclusion: This study enhances the understanding of the complex interactions between executive dysfunction, smartphone addiction, and academic procrastination in contributing to anxiety among hearing-impaired college students. The findings offer valuable insights for developing strategies to promote the mental health of this population.

Keywords: college students; executive dysfunction; hearing-impaired; mental health.

Grants and funding

This study was funded by General Research Project of Philosophy and Social Science in Colleges and Universities of Jiangsu Province: “Research on Resilience in College Students with Disabilities from a Positive Psychology Perspective”. Project number: 2022SJYB0532.