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. 2025 Aug 26;25:808. doi: 10.1186/s12888-025-07268-3

Resilience and bedtime procrastination among Chinese college students: the mediating role of perceived stress and moderating roles of self-compassion and gender

Jiahao Huang 1,2,#, Junling Liu 1,#, Qian Wang 1, Xiao Luo 2, Yiqing Ma 2, Tianqi Zong 3, Yingying Zhu 1,4,5,✉
PMCID: PMC12379415  PMID: 40859248

Abstract

Background

Bedtime procrastination has become increasingly prevalent in China in recent years. Numerous studies have demonstrated the negative effects of bedtime procrastination on individuals’ physical and mental health. The present study aims to examine the relationship between resilience and bedtime procrastination among Chinese college students, as well as to explore the mediating role of perceived stress and the dual moderating roles of self-compassion and gender.

Methods

A total of 5,153 college students aged 17 to 30 years (Mage ± SD = 19.91 ± 1.22) were recruited in this study and completed a self-reported questionnaire, which included the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10), the Bedtime Procrastination Scale (BPS), the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS).

Results

Resilience was found to be negatively correlated with college students’ perceived stress and bedtime procrastination. Perceived stress partially mediated the relationship between resilience and bedtime procrastination, with a 91.11% mediation effect. Self-compassion moderated the effect of resilience in the path from resilience to perceived stress, and gender played a dual moderated role in the moderating effect of self-compassion on resilience and perceived stress.

Conclusions

Perceived stress played a significant mediating role in the relationship between resilience and bedtime procrastination among Chinese college students. Self-compassion had a gender-specific moderated effect on the linkage between resilience and perceived stress. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of how resilience influences bedtime procrastination among college students, offering practical insights for developing interventions to protect students’ sleep and mental health.

Keywords: Bedtime procrastination, Resilience, Perceived stress, Self-compassion, Gender differences, College students

Introduction

Bedtime procrastination refers to the behavior that delays bedtime without any external factors [1]. In recent years, researchers have shown growing interest in bedtime procrastination due to its widespread prevalence and associated risks. Studies have shown that a significant proportion of the Chinese population, particularly college students, engage in this behavior to varying degrees. For instance, only 6.4% of college students reported that they never procrastinate going to bed, while as high as 54.3% admitted to frequently procrastinating at bedtime [2]. Research has demonstrated that bedtime procrastination is associated with numerous adverse health outcomes among college students, including insufficient sleep, poor sleep quality, elevated daytime sleepiness and fatigue, and diminished academic performance [3–6]. Additionally, bedtime procrastination has been linked to negative emotional states, such as depression, anxiety [3], and reduced subjective well-being [6]. A recent study also disclosed that the presence of bedtime procrastination may increase the risk of excessive mobile phone use among young undergraduates [7]. Given the connections between bedtime procrastination and these detrimental outcomes, it is imperative to explore the influencing factors, particularly the protective ones, and the intrinsic mechanisms among college students. Such research could provide empirical support for developing strategies to reduce the prevalence of bedtime procrastination among college students, thereby promoting their physical and mental health.

Resilience and bedtime procrastination

Resilience, a crucial psychological trait within positive psychology, denotes an individual’s capacity to recover rapidly from adversity and adapt flexibly to changes in the external environment when confronted with pressure, frustration, or negative events [8]. The steeling effect theory posits that when suffering from trauma, highly resilient individuals can not only cope effectively with stressful situations but also exhibit reduced sensitivity to negative life events. In contrast, those with lower resilience are more vulnerable to the adverse effects of such events [9]. Empirical research has demonstrated that an oversensitivity to negative life events can readily prompt individuals to engage in ruminative thinking/processing [10], which serves as a significant risk factor for triggering bedtime procrastination [11]. Thus, resilience may, to some extent, alleviate individuals’ bedtime procrastination by diminishing their susceptibility to negative life events. Furthermore, the sensitizing effect theory [12] indicates that when people with low resilience encounter an excessive number of negative events, it can disrupt their self-regulation processes or even break down their internal self-regulation mechanisms. Studies have consistently demonstrated a significant negative association between self-regulation and bedtime procrastination [4, 13]. In other words, individuals with poor self-regulation resources were more likely to delay their bedtime, whereas those with ample self-regulation resources were less likely to do so. Based on the above evidence, we put forward the hypothesis that resilience may negatively predict bedtime procrastination among college students (H1).

The mediating role of perceived stress

In situations characterized by challenges or threats, individuals are likely to experience perceived stress—a negative emotional response arising from circumstances perceived as beyond their control [14]. Prolonged exposure to stress and pressure can significantly impair both physical and mental health [15]. Research has demonstrated that resilience, as an internal psychological resource, plays a crucial role in mitigating perceived stress [16]. For instance, Tung and colleagues [17] found that resilience was negatively associated with perceived stress, with individuals reporting higher levels of resilience experiencing fewer stress-related symptoms compared to those with lower resilience. Similarly, Deng et al. (2021) revealed in a recent cross-sectional study that resilience and its sub-dimensions (tenacity, optimism, and strength) had a negative prediction effect on an individual’s self-perceived stress. This may be attributed to the fact that individuals with high resilience actively seek external support and possess strong external protective factors [18]. According to the stress-coping theory, when faced with stressful situations, individuals tend to utilize their internal and external resources, such as psychological resilience, to effectively cope with adverse events [19]. Furthermore, resilience can be understood as a process of adaptation. People who possess high levels of resilience typically exhibit superior psychological adaptability [20]. This adaptability enables them to recover more effectively from the pressures of daily life.

Additionally, numerous studies have identified perceived stress as a risk factor for negative emotions, including anxiety and depression [21–23]. Negative emotions have been shown to be a significant predictor of bedtime procrastination [24]. According to the short-term emotional repair theory [25], the underlying motivation for procrastination behavior lies in its potential to relieve negative emotions in the short run. This principle equally applies to bedtime procrastination. When individuals are unable to relieve negative emotions, such as perceived stress, they may prioritize their immediate emotional state over long-term health goals. This creates a need for bedtime procrastination as a form of emotional repair, ultimately leading to its occurrence. In other words, reducing negative emotions can effectively mitigate the incidence of procrastinating bedtimes. Moreover, resilience has been widely recognized as a critical protective factor against negative emotions such as perceived stress among children and adolescents [26, 27]. Therefore, given the existing findings on resilience, perceived stress, and bedtime procrastination, the present study hypothesizes that perceived stress may play a mediating role in the influence of resilience on college students’ bedtime procrastination (H2).

The moderation role of self-compassion

Self-compassion is a crucial indicator of mental health. It refers to the ability of individuals to accept their flaws and deficiencies (self-kindness), treat themselves with understanding and tolerance, confront rather than avoid or distance themselves from suffering (mindfulness), and recognize that suffering is a universal human experience (common humanity) [28]. Research has shown that basic self-compassion training can significantly reduce psychological distress among social assistance workers and healthcare professionals by improving their stress management capabilities and lowering their perceived stress and fatigue [29]. Moreover, interventions focused on self-compassion have been found to be effective in decreasing perceived stress levels among individuals experiencing high stress [30]. According to the social mentality theory, individuals with high levels of self-compassion are better equipped to cope with negative life events and are more likely to react in an adaptive way. This is because self-compassion can attenuate the threat system while activating the self-comforting system [31]. Furthermore, those with high self-compassion are more inclined to employ adaptive emotion regulation strategies, which can effectively alleviate their negative emotions such as stress, depression, and anxiety [30]. In contrast, those with lower self-compassion tend to engage in negative self-evaluations and maladaptive regulation strategies when faced with adverse events [28, 32], which may result in more negative emotions, such as increased perceived stress. In addition, empirical studies have also revealed a significant positive correlation between self-compassion and resilience [33]. Specifically, the higher an individual’s reported self-compassion, the stronger his or her psychological resilience. Therefore, it is reasonable for us to infer that self-compassion could moderate the effect of resilience on perceived stress by replacing non-adaptive emotion regulation strategies with adaptive ones. In light of this, the present study hypothesizes that self-compassion may serve as a reliable moderator in the mediation model linking resilience and perceived stress (H3).

The dual moderation role of gender

Gender difference is another important dimension to consider in the relationship between resilience, perceived stress, and self-compassion. As demonstrated in previous studies, there were significant gender differences in perceived stress and self-compassion. It has been found that women constantly report higher levels of perceived stress than men and are more likely to adopt emotion-focused coping strategies, indicating that women may experience greater psychological distress and emotional problems resulting from daily stressors [34]. Furthermore, a recent cross-sectional study revealed that women were more sensitive to stress due to their self-reported higher stress reactivity than men [35]. As for self-compassion, the emotional coping theory suggests that self-compassion can be viewed as an emotional regulation strategy and is closely related to emotion-centered coping styles [36, 37]. Findings from earlier studies showed that women were more likely than men to employ emotion-centered coping strategies [38]. Likewise, empirical research on both adolescents and college students revealed that self-compassion had a stronger stress-relieving effect on females than on males [39]. In the context of resilience, females have been found to exhibit lower resilience levels as compared with males when going through the same conditions [40]. Naseem and Munaf [41] also observed from a comparative study that males demonstrated much stronger resilience than females during both adolescence and early adulthood. Thus, based on the above evidence, the present study includes gender as a dual moderating variable with the assumption that gender may moderate the moderating effect of self-compassion on the association between resilience and perceived stress among college students (H4).

The present study

Drawing on previous studies and relevant theoretical frameworks, this study aims to investigate the relationship between resilience and bedtime procrastination among college students, as well as explore the mediating (perceived stress) and moderating (self-compassion) mechanisms within this relationship. Additionally, given the well-established gender differences in perceived stress, self-compassion, and resilience, the present study also endeavors to examine the moderating roles of gender in the moderated mediation effect of perceived stress and self-compassion on the linkage between resilience and bedtime procrastination in Chinese college students. The integrated model can address questions about both mediation (i.e., how does resilience associate with bedtime procrastination) and moderation (i.e., for whom is the relation most or least strong). The proposed conceptual model is illustrated in Fig. 1.

Fig. 1.

Fig. 1

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The proposed conceptual model. In the figure, the independent variable was resilience, the dependent variable was bedtime procrastination, the mediator was perceived stress, and the moderators were self-compassion and gender

Methods

Participants

A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2023 to January 2024. Participants were recruited from two universities in Tianjin and Shenyang, China, using a non-probability sampling method through campus posters and the WeChat platform. The combined student population across both institutions totaled approximately 42,100. A total of 5,153 college students completed the survey. All participants provided informed consent and volunteered to participate in the study based on an assurance of confidentiality and anonymity. Among them, 3273 were males (63.52%), and 1880 were females (36.48%); 561 (10.89%) were freshmen, 2408 (46.73%) were sophomores, 2013 (39.06%) were juniors, 116 (2.25%) were seniors, and 55 (1.07%) were postgraduate students. The average age of the participants is 19.91 years (SD = 1.22) from a range of 17–30 years. Detailed sociodemographic characteristics of the total sample are presented in Table 1. After completing the survey, the participants were given small gifts for participating. All study procedures were approved by the Research Ethics Committee of Tianjin Normal University (Approval No. LL2023112901), and were performed in accordance with ethical standards laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments.

Table 1.

Sociodemographic characteristics of participants (N = 5153)

Variables Mean (SD) / N (%)
Age (years), Mean (SD) 19.91 (1.22)
Gender, n (%)
Male 3273 (63.52)
Female 1880 (36.48)
Grade, n (%)
Freshman 561 (10.89)
Sophomore 2408 (46.73)
Junior 2013 (39.06)
Senior 116 (2.25)
Graduate 55 (1.07)
Subjects, n (%)
Humanities 576 (11.18)
Science 3974 (77.12)
Others 603 (11.70)
Only child, n (%)
Yes 2484 (48.20)
No 2669 (51.80)
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Measures

Connor-Davidson resilience scale (CD-RISC)

The Chinese version of the 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale was used to evaluate participants’ levels of resilience [42]. There are no reverse scoring questions on the scale, which has a unidimensional structure with 10 items (such as ‘I can adapt when things change’). The measure is assessed on a five-point scale, with 1 being “never” and 5 being “always”, and the total score ranges from 0 to 50. Higher scores indicate higher levels of resilience. The Cronbach’s Inline graphic coefficient in this study was 0.95.

Perceived stress scale (PSS)

The Chinese version of the Perceived Stress Scale was used to measure participants’ levels of perceived stress [43]. The PSS consists of 14 items (such as ‘Feeling nervous and stressed’), of which seven (items 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, and 13) are scored in reverse. Each item is rated on a five-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (totally disagree) to 5 (totally agree). The total score is calculated by summing the scores of all items, resulting in a possible range from 14 to 70. Higher scores indicate a greater level of perceived stress. Previous studies have demonstrated the satisfactory validity and reliability of the scale among college students [44]. In this study, the Cronbach’s Inline graphic coefficient was 0.85.

Bedtime procrastination scale (BPS)

The severity of bedtime procrastination was evaluated with the Chinese version of the Bedtime Procrastination Scale [45]. This scale contains 9 items rated on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (almost never) to 5 (almost always), and four items (items 2, 3, 7, and 9) are scored reversely. An example item is “I go to bed later than I had intended”. The BPS score is calculated as the average of ratings for all items (after the negatively worded items have been reverse coded). The higher the average score, the greater the bedtime procrastination. The Cronbach’s Inline graphic coefficient in this study was 0.88.

Self-Compassion scale (SCS)

The Chinese version of the Self-Compassion Scale was used to measure participants’ levels of self-compassion [46]. The scale consists of 12 items, which can be divided into three dimensions: common humanity, self-kindness, and mindfulness. There are 5 inversely scored questions on the scale (items 2, 4, 5, 8, and 11). Each item is rated on a five-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (totally disagree) to 5 (totally agree), with higher total scores indicating higher levels of self-compassion. An example item is “When things go bad, I can understand that frustration is part of life’s experience”. In this study, the Cronbach’s Inline graphic coefficient of the total scale was 0.84, and the Cronbach’s Inline graphic coefficient of the common humanity, self-kindness, and mindfulness subscales were 0.76, 0.60, and 0.88, respectively.

Data analysis

Data analyses were carried out using SPSS 26.0 and PROCESS version 4.0. First, descriptive statistics and Pearson’s correlation analysis were employed for examining the means, standard deviations, and bivariate correlations among study variables. Second, we adopted the macro PROCESS (version 4.0) in SPSS to test the mediation and moderated analyses. Specifically, Model 4 of the PROCESS macro was performed to test the mediating role of perceived stress in the link between resilience and bedtime procrastination. The indirect effect was computed using a bias-corrected bootstrapping procedure with 5000 bootstrap samples. If the 95% confidence interval (CI) did not include 0, it meant that the mediation effect was significant. Thereafter, in PROCESS, Model 7 was applied to test the moderated mediating effect of self-compassion on the relationship between resilience and bedtime procrastination, and Model 11 was applied to test the moderating effect of gender in the above moderated mediation model. To further understand the nature of the moderation effect, the simple slope analysis was conducted at high and low levels of self-compassion, defined as one standard deviation below and above the mean. All statistical tests were performed by a two-sided test, and P values < 0.05 were considered to be statistically significant.

The Harman one-way test was used to test for common method bias. The results showed that there were six factors with characteristic roots greater than one, and the variance explained by the first factor was 36.18%, which was less than the critical value of 40%, indicating that there was no serious problem of common method bias in this study.

Results

Descriptive statistics and correlation analysis

The results of the descriptive statistics and correlation analysis are shown in Table 2. Resilience was significantly and negatively correlated with perceived stress (r = − 0.71, p < 0.001) and bedtime procrastination (r = − 0.45, p < 0.001). Perceived stress was significantly and positively correlated with bedtime procrastination (r = 0.65, p < 0.001). Self-compassion was significantly and positively correlated with resilience (r = 0.72, p < 0.001), and significantly and negatively correlated with both perceived stress (r = − 0.75, p < 0.001) and bedtime procrastination (r = − 0.54, p < 0.001).

Table 2.

The moderated mediation results of self-compassion

Variables M SD 1 2 3 4 5 6
1 Gender a — — —
2 Age 19.91 1.22 0.15*** —
3 Resilience 36.45 8.21 −0.05*** 0.01 —
4 Perceived stress 37.71 8.32 0.09*** −0.07*** −0.71*** —
5 Self-compassion 42.29 8.04 −0.03* 0.04** 0.72*** −0.75*** —
6 Bedtime procrastination 24.38 7.42 0.18*** −0.08*** −0.45*** 0.62*** −0.54*** —
aMale = 0, Female = 1. SD = standard deviations. *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001
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Mediation analysis

With resilience as the independent variable, perceived stress as the mediating variable, bedtime procrastination as the dependent variable, and age as the control variable, the macro PROCESS (Model 4) was used to analyze the mediating effect of perceived stress. The results of the mediation analysis showed that resilience had a significant negative effect on bedtime procrastination (β = −0.45, p < 0.001) and perceived stress (β = −0.71, p < 0.001). Perceived stress had a significant positive effect on bedtime procrastination (β = 0.59, p < 0.001). Furthermore, the direct effect of resilience on bedtime procrastination (β = −0.04, p < 0.05) and the indirect effect of resilience on bedtime procrastination via perceived stress (β = −0.41, 95% CI = [− 0.44, − 0.39]) were also significant. These findings indicate that perceived stress partially mediates the relationship between resilience and bedtime procrastination, with the mediation effect accounting for 91.11% of the total effect.

Moderation analysis

The PROCESS macro (Model 7) was used to analyze the moderating effect of self-compassion on the association between resilience and perceived stress. As presented in Table 3, resilience significantly and negatively predicted perceived stress (β = −0.35, p < 0.001, 95% CI = [− 0.38, − 0.33]), and the interaction between resilience and self-compassion significantly predicted perceived stress (β = −0.11, p < 0.001, 95% CI = [− 0.12, − 0.09]). These findings suggest that self-compassion moderates the relationship between resilience and perceived stress. Simple slope analyses were subsequently conducted to examine the relationship between resilience and perceived stress at varying levels of self-compassion. The results showed that for college students with lower self-compassion, resilience was significantly associated with perceived stress (βsimple = − 0.25, t = − 17.85, p < 0.001); in contrast, this effect was stronger among students with higher self-compassion (βsimple = − 0.47, t = − 31.43, p < 0.001).

Table 3.

The results of dual moderated mediation effect

Variables Model 1 (Outcome: BPS) Model 2 (Outcome: PSS) Model 3 (Outcome: BPS) Model 4 (Outcome: PSS)
β SE t β SE t β SE t β SE t
Age −0.06 0.01 −5.97*** −0.05 0.01 −6.35*** −0.03 0.01 −3.38*** −0.04 0.01 −5.12***
CD-RISC −0.45 0.01 −36.56*** −0.71 0.01 −71.67*** −0.04 0.02 −2.47* −0.35 0.01 −29.30***
PSS 0.59 0.02 37.91***
SCS −0.47 0.01 −38.57***
CD-RISC×SCS −0.11 0.01 −14.16***
R2 0.21 0.50 0.38 0.64
F 688.20 2592.42 1065.72 2286.63
Inline graphic: Standardized coefficients. CD-RISC: 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale; PSS: Perceived Stress Scale; SCS: Self-Compassion Scale; BPS: Bedtime Procrastination Scale. *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001
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To explore the moderating effect of gender on the relationship between self-compassion, resilience, and perceived stress, the PROCESS macro (Model 11) was performed to analyze the dual moderated mediation model. The results of the dual moderated mediation analysis are presented in Fig. 2; Table 4.. The interactions between resilience and gender (β = 0.06, t = 2.25, p < 0.05) and between self-compassion and gender (β = −0.08, t = − 3.15, p < 0.01) significantly predicted perceived stress. Notably, the three-way interaction among resilience, self-compassion, and gender was also significant (β = 0.05, t = 2.86, p < 0.01), indicating that the moderating effect of self-compassion on the resilience–perceived stress relationship is further moderated by gender. Simple slope analyses for each gender group revealed that resilience significantly and negatively predicted perceived stress in both male and female students. Specifically, the negative predictive effect was stronger in male students (βsimple = − 0.37, p < 0.001) than in female students (βsimple = − 0.31, p < 0.001) (Fig. 3A). Additionally, self-compassion had a stronger negative predictive effect on perceived stress in female students (βsimple = − 0.52, p < 0.001) compared to male students (βsimple = − 0.44, p < 0.001) (Fig. 3B).

Fig. 2.

Fig. 2

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This figure depicts the coefficients estimated in the dual moderated mediation model. Standardized path coefficients are presented in the path line. Note: SCS: self-compassion. *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001

Table 4.

The results of dual moderated mediation effect

Variable Model index Regression coefficient
Outcome variables Predictor variables R 2 F Inline graphic t Boot LLCI Boot ULCI

Perceived Stress

(Model1)

 Age −0.03 −4.27*** −0.04 −0.02
Gender a 0.08 3.70*** 0.04 0.12
Resilience 0.64 1161.27*** −0.35 −29.07*** −0.37 −0.33
Self-compassion −0.47 −38.48*** −0.49 −0.45
Resilience × Self-compassion −0.11 −14.03*** −0.12 −0.09
Resilience × Gender 0.06 2.25* 0.01 0.11
Self-compassion × Gender −0.08 −3.15** −0.13 −0.03
Resilience × Self-compassion × Gender 0.05 2.86** 0.01 0.08

Bedtime Procrastination

(Model2)

 Age −0.03 −3.38*** −0.05 −0.01
Resilience −0.04 −2.47* −0.07 −0.01
Perceived Stress 0.38 1065.72*** 0.59 37.91*** 0.56 0.62
Inline graphic: Standardized coefficients. aGender: 0 = Male; 1 = Female. Boot LLCI: Bootstrap lower level of confidence interval; Boot ULCI: Bootstrap upper level of confidence interval. *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001
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Fig. 3.

Fig. 3

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(A): The moderating effect of gender on the association between CD-RISC and perceived stress; B: The moderating effect of gender on the association between SCS and perceived stress; C: The moderating effect of gender on the moderating effect of self-compassion on the association between CD-RICS and perceived stress. Note: CD-RICS: Resilience; SCS: Self-compassion

Finally, simple slope analyses indicated that resilience and self-compassion significantly and negatively predicted perceived stress across all four groups (Fig. 3C). The negative predictive effect was stronger in males and females with higher levels with self-compassion than in those with lower levels of self-compassion (βLow−SCS male = − 0.25; βHigh−SCS male = − 0.50; βLow−SCS female = − 0.24; βHigh−SCS female = − 0.40, ps < 0.001). Moreover, regardless of self-compassion levels, the negative predictive effect was stronger in males than in females.

Discussion

The present study examined the relationship between resilience and bedtime procrastination among Chinese college students, with a focus on the mediating role of perceived stress and the moderating effects of self-compassion and gender. Our findings demonstrated that perceived stress partially mediated the relationship between resilience and bedtime procrastination. Furthermore, moderated analyses revealed that self-compassion moderated the effect of resilience on perceived stress, while gender played a dual moderating role in this interaction. Rooted in the framework of positive psychology, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of the mechanisms underlying bedtime procrastination and offers a scientific basis for developing interventions to alleviate and prevent this behavior among college students.

This study was the first to demonstrate a significant negative correlation between resilience and bedtime procrastination among college students. Specifically, students with higher levels of resilience were inclined to engage in less bedtime procrastination, while those with lower levels of resilience were more likely to procrastinate going to bed. The result provides crucial empirical evidence for previous studies highlighting the protective role of resilience in regulating maladaptive behaviors [47]. Resilience, as a psychological resource, enables individuals to effectively cope with stress and maintain self-regulation, which is critical for adhering to healthy sleep routines [4]. According to the broaden and build theory [48], resilience fosters positive emotions and adaptive coping strategies, which may counteract the tendency to engage in avoidance behaviors such as bedtime procrastination. Specifically, individuals with higher resilience are likely to exhibit greater self-control and problem-solving skills, reducing the likelihood of delaying bedtime despite fatigue or competing demands [37]. This aligns with the notion that bedtime procrastination often stems from a failure of self-regulation, particularly in the face of stress or emotional challenges [49].

The study further discovered that perceived stress partially mediated the relationship between resilience and bedtime procrastination. In other words, resilience had an indirect impact on bedtime procrastination through perceived stress. This mediation effect was in line with existing literature suggesting that resilience, as a psychological resource, plays a critical role in mitigating stress responses [50]. Previous studies have shown that individuals with higher resilience are better equipped to cope with stressors, thereby reducing the likelihood of engaging in maladaptive behaviors such as bedtime procrastination [4]. Furthermore, according to the stress and coping theory [20], people with high resilience typically possess stronger psychological adjustment abilities. When confronted with life stressors, they can more effectively employ positive coping strategies, thereby reducing negative emotions and the perception of stress [8]. Lower levels of perceived stress enable individuals to avoid the difficulty of falling asleep due to excessive stress and anxiety before bedtime, thus decreasing the likelihood of bedtime procrastination. In contrast, those with low resilience may be more inclined to adopt negative coping strategies when facing stress, leading to an increase in perceived stress levels. This stress can interfere with individuals’ sleep decisions, prompting them to delay going to bed to escape the stressful situation [25]. Additionally, extant literature provides further support for our results. For instance, prior research has revealed that stress is one of the key factors affecting sleep quality and sleep behaviors [51]. Individuals in a high-stress state are more likely to experience sleep disorders, including difficulty falling asleep and maintaining sleep, and bedtime procrastination is also a manifestation of sleep problems. However, resilience, as an important psychological resource for coping with stress, has been shown to have a positive influence on sleep-related behaviors [52]. It is suggested that improving resilience and developing effective stress-reduction strategies can significantly prevent or decrease the occurrence of bedtime procrastination, thereby promoting the healthy growth of college students. Additionally, enhancing awareness of the connection between resilience and sleep behaviors through campus-wide campaigns is essential for encouraging students to take proactive steps towards improving sleep and mental health.

Results of the moderated mediation analysis indicated that self-compassion had a moderating effect on the path of resilience affecting perceived stress. This moderating effect was stronger for college students with higher levels of self-compassion. Specifically, students with high self-compassion were inclined to report lower levels of perceived stress with the decrease of resilience, whereas students with low self-compassion were inclined to report higher levels of perceived stress as their resilience decreased. The result suggests that self-compassion acts as a psychological resource that bolsters the stress-buffering effects of resilience. This can be explained by the self-regulation resource model of self-compassion [53], which emphasizes that self-compassion can enhance individuals’ self-regulation by reducing negative affect, promoting positive emotions, and fostering cognitive flexibility. In the context of this study, students with higher self-compassion may experience less self-criticism and greater emotional stability when faced with stress, allowing them to utilize their resilience more effectively. Furthermore, the positive emotions associated with self-compassion, such as self-kindness and a sense of common humanity, can broaden individuals’ thought-action repertoires and build enduring psychological resources including resilience [36]. When dealing with external pressure or risk, individuals can mobilize their own resources to deal with them [54], thus effectively reducing the risk of adverse emotional outcomes [55]. Compared with individuals with low self-compassion, individuals with high self-compassion have lower risk of psychological exhaustion because they have more psychological resources [51]. This synergistic effect between resilience and self-compassion may explain why students with higher self-compassion experience a more pronounced reduction in perceived stress when faced with challenges. Taken together, our findings highlight the critical moderating role of self-compassion in the relationship between resilience and perceived stress. They also underscore its potential as a target for interventions aimed at reducing stress and improving mental health among college students. By fostering self-compassion, educators and mental health professionals can help students leverage their resilience more effectively, ultimately promoting greater psychological well-being and academic performance.

In addition, the present study found that both the influence of resilience and self-compassion on perceived stress could be moderated by gender. Specifically, the effect of self-compassion on perceived stress was significantly stronger for female students than for males. That is, when faced with stress, self-compassion can better help females reduce their stress levels compared to males. This difference may be attributed to females’ greater emotional focus [34] and their tendency to employ emotion-centered coping strategies, such as self-compassion, which are particularly effective in stress reduction [56]. In contrast, resilience demonstrated a stronger negative predictive effect on perceived stress in males than in females. Previous studies have shown that males are more adept at employing defensive mechanisms in stressful situations [57] and generally exhibit greater stress tolerance, enabling them to mitigate the adverse effects of stress more effectively [58]. On the other hand, females are more prone to internalizing stress reactions and engaging in self-blame, which can hinder their ability to utilize resilience to counteract the negative impact of stressful events [59]. This chronic stress response makes it more challenging for females to leverage resilience to reduce the detrimental effects of such events [60]. While our study was conducted among Chinese college students within an Eastern collectivist cultural context, the findings align with previous research conducted in Western individualist cultures using diverse populations. For instance, Neff and colleagues who studied American community adults and adolescents [30, 33], and Helminen et al., who focused on undergraduates [39], both found that self-compassion has a more pronounced stress-relieving effect on females. This consistency underscores the universal role of self-compassion in alleviating stress among females across different cultures and groups, thereby providing robust support for the broad applicability of our research findings. From a practical perspective, our findings on the gender-specific moderation effects reveal distinct patterns in how resilience and self-compassion operate for male and female college students, underscoring the necessity for tailored interventions. For male students, resilience-building strategies should be prioritized, such as skill-building workshops to enhance problem-solving and emotional regulation [61], cognitive-behavioral techniques to reframe negative thoughts [62], and physical activities like team sports to foster stress tolerance and adaptive coping strategies [44]. For female students, self-compassion-based interventions, such as mindful self-compassion programs, mindfulness practices, and group-based activities that foster self-kindness and shared humanity [63, 64], are recommended to help them manage stress more effectively. By adopting these gender-specific approaches, colleges can better address the unique needs of students, promoting their academic success and mental well-being.

Limitations

This study has several limitations that should be acknowledged. First, due to the cross-sectional design of this study, causal link between the study variables cannot be established. Longitudinal or experimental studies are necessary to validate the findings of the current research. Second, data collection in this study relied on self-reported methods, which may be susceptible to information bias. More objective measurements of the studied variables are warranted in future work. Third, while our study provides evidence for gender-specific moderating effects, these findings should be interpreted cautiously within the context of broader cultural and demographic frameworks. Given the complexity of gender roles in psychological processes, and their potential intersection with other social factors such as societal expectations, it is important to acknowledge that future research should delve deeper into how gender and socio-cultural factors interact to shape the relationships between resilience, self-compassion, and perceived stress. In addition, the limited representation of seniors and graduate students in our sample may constrain the generalizability of findings for these groups. Future studies should strive for a more balanced representation across educational levels to deepen understanding of the characteristics of these populations and yield more robust conclusions. Finally, the present study primarily focused on the impact of resilience on college students’ bedtime procrastination and the underlying mechanisms involved. However, it’s crucial to note that there may be other factors that can exert an influence on bedtime procrastination. Future research endeavors should investigate the intricate relationships between various factors and bedtime procrastination to gain a more comprehensive understanding of this phenomenon and provide a stronger scientific basis for promoting the mental health and well-being of college students.

Conclusion

In summary, the present study, which involved a large sample of college students, investigated the relationship between resilience and bedtime procrastination, emphasizing the mediating role of perceived stress and the moderating effects of self-compassion and gender. The results indicated that resilience significantly and negatively predicted bedtime procrastination. Perceived stress played a partial mediating role in the relationship between resilience and bedtime procrastination. Furthermore, self-compassion moderated the link between resilience and perceived stress, with this moderating effect varying by gender. To our knowledge, this is the first study to directly explore the relation between resilience and bedtime procrastination, as well as the underlying psychological mechanisms. These findings deepened our understanding of how and when resilience influences bedtime procrastination. Additionally, it is important to find that reducing perceived stress and enhancing self-compassion may serve as effective interventions to mitigate the adverse effects of bedtime procrastination.

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank all participants for their contribution to this research.

Abbreviations

BPS

Bedtime Procrastination Scale

CD-RISC-10

Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (10-item version)

CI

Confidence Interval

PSS

Perceived Stress Scale

SCS

Self-Compassion Scale

SD

Standard Deviation

SPSS

Statistical Package for the Social Sciences

Author’s contributions

Jiahao Huang: Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigation, Formal Analysis, Writing - Original Draft; Junling Liu: Investigation, Formal Analysis, Writing - Original Draft; Qian Wang: Investigation, Formal Analysis, Writing - Review & Editing; Xiao Luo: Methodology, Visualization, Validation, Writing –review & editing; Yiqing Ma: Data Curation, Methodology, Visualization, Validation; Tianqi Zong: Data Curation, Visualization, Validation; Yingying Zhu: Conceptualization, Funding Acquisition, Resources, Supervision, Writing - Review & Editing, Project Administration.

Funding

The study was funded by the Philosophy and Social Science Planning Project of Tianjin City (Grant Number: TJJXQN19-006).

Data availability

The datasets used during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate

This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Tianjin Normal University [Approval No. LL2023112901]. All procedures were performed in compliance with the ethical standards laid out in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Footnotes

Publishers’ Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Jiahao Huang and Junling Liu are co-first authors.

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Associated Data

This section collects any data citations, data availability statements, or supplementary materials included in this article.

Data Availability Statement

The datasets used during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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